American Authorities Initiate Probe into Autonomous Teslas After String of Collisions

American vehicle safety authorities have started an investigation into Tesla cars equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches after numerous accidents.

Safety Agency Identifies Traffic Law Violations

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and intervene if needed, had “induced car behavior 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 agency concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had received accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and traveling against the wrong direction during lane changes while operating the system.

NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with full self-driving activated, “approached an intersection with a red traffic signal, continued to drive into the intersection despite the red light and was later involved in 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 reports and one media report alleging that Tesla vehicles, driving through an intersection with FSD active, “failed to remain 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 vehicle interface”.

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

Continuing Regulatory Scrutiny

The full self-driving system, which is more advanced than its basic autopilot feature, has been under investigation by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the authority began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Stated Position

Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled functions do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with existing deployments.