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American vehicle safety authorities have started an examination into Tesla vehicles featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations following numerous crashes.

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Breaches

The NHTSA declared that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires drivers to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the first step before possibly requesting a recall of the cars if the agency concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency stated it had received reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red lights and moving in the incorrect way during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, using FSD engaged, “approached an junction with a red light, continued to drive into the crossroads against the red signal and was later involved in a collision with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

The authority noted that four crashes had resulted in injuries to occupants.

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct light status in the car's display”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give warnings of the technology's intended actions as the car was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Official Examination

The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for a year.

In late 2024, the agency started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for use with a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the presently active features do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.