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American vehicle safety authorities have started an probe into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after multiple collisions.

Safety Agency Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that violated road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the initial phase before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the agency concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and moving against the wrong way during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, proceeded to travel into the intersection despite the red light and was subsequently part of a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

The agency noted that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 reports 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 light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and show the correct light status in the car's display”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's planned behaviour as the car was approaching a red light”.

Continuing Official Examination

Tesla's FSD, which is more advanced than its Autopilot system, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In late 2024, the authority started an investigation into over two million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or airborne dust. One of these collisions, in last year, was fatal.

Company's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to improve over time, the presently active features do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.