🔗 Share this article

American vehicle safety authorities have started an investigation into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after numerous crashes.

Safety Agency Identifies Safety Regulation Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused vehicle behaviour that breached traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency determines they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and traveling against the wrong way during lane switching while operating the technology.

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

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

Additional Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red light, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “did not provide alerts of the system's intended actions as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

In late 2024, the authority began an investigation into over two million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in last year, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for use with a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.