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American vehicle safety authorities have opened an investigation into Tesla cars featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations after several accidents.

Safety Agency Finds Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency stated that the electric carmaker's self-driving assistance system, which requires motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had caused car behavior that violated traffic safety laws”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA represents the first step before possibly requesting a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body stated it had received reports of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and traveling against the wrong direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with FSD engaged, “came to an junction with a red light, proceeded to drive into the intersection against the red light and was subsequently part of a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, did not stay stationary for the duration of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give warnings of the technology's intended actions as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Continuing Official Examination

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

In late 2024, the authority began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four documented crashes in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in last year, 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 wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not make the car self-driving.”

Self-driving car systems continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.