🔗 Share this article

US automobile safety regulators have commenced an examination into Tesla cars featuring the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations after several crashes.

Regulatory Body Finds Safety Regulation Violations

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

This early investigation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially requesting a withdrawal of the cars if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Concerning Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had documented reports of nearly 3 million Tesla cars running red lights and traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes while using the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, using full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red light, continued to drive into the crossroads despite the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other cars in the intersection”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 reports and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, 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 traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide alerts of the system's planned actions as the car was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Official Examination

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

In late 2024, the authority started an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with 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

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by 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 become more capable, the presently active features do not make the car autonomous.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.