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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an probe into Tesla cars equipped with the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations after multiple accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The NHTSA stated that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

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

Alarming Case Findings

The regulatory body reported it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and traveling against the incorrect way during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red light and was subsequently involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The authority reported that four crashes had resulted in one or more injuries.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one news account alleging that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stationary for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the proper light status in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's planned behaviour as the vehicle was coming to a red light”.

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In October 2024, the agency started an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in last year, was fatal.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to assume control at any moment. While these features are designed to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not render the car self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.