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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after several collisions.

Regulatory Body Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the first step before potentially requesting a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The regulatory body reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and traveling against the wrong direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving engaged, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, proceeded to drive into the crossroads against the red signal and was later involved in a collision with other cars in the junction”.

The authority noted that four accidents had caused injuries to occupants.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or did not properly recognize and show the correct light status in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the system's intended actions as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the agency began an investigation into over two million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of reduced visibility, such as bright sunlight, mist or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Company's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for use with a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals possible issues with current implementations.