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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an investigation into Tesla vehicles equipped with the full self-driving technology due to traffic-safety violations following numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The federal safety agency declared that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had caused car behavior that violated road safety regulations”.

This early investigation by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before possibly requesting a recall of the cars if the authority determines they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles driving through red lights and moving in the incorrect way during lane changes while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with FSD activated, “came to an intersection with a red light, proceeded to travel into the intersection against the red signal and was later part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

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

Additional Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 complaints and one news account alleging that Tesla cars, driving through an intersection with FSD engaged, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Several reporters also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the system's planned actions as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In late 2024, the agency began an investigation into over two million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Stated Position

The company's official position indicates that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled functions do not render the vehicle autonomous.”

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.