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US automobile safety regulators have started an examination into Tesla cars equipped with the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after multiple collisions.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands drivers to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially seeking a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving in the wrong way during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, continued to travel into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one news account claiming that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD active, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and show the correct light status in the vehicle interface”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide alerts of the technology's intended actions as the car was approaching a red light”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

In late 2024, the agency started an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are designed to become more capable, the presently active features do not make the car autonomous.”

Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.