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US automobile safety regulators have commenced an examination into Tesla vehicles equipped with the autonomous driving system due to safety regulation breaches after numerous collisions.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to stay alert and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the initial phase before potentially seeking a recall of the cars if the authority concludes they pose a risk to road safety.

Alarming Case Findings

The agency stated it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and moving against the incorrect direction during lane switching while operating the system.

NHTSA confirmed it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, operating with FSD engaged, “approached an intersection with a red traffic signal, continued to drive into the crossroads against the red signal and was subsequently involved in a collision with other motor vehicles in the junction”.

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

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming 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 did not properly recognize and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface”.

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

Continuing Official Examination

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

In October 2024, the authority began an inquiry into over two million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, mist or airborne dust. One such accident, in last year, was deadly.

Manufacturer's Official Stance

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

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face growing examination from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.