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American vehicle safety authorities have commenced an examination into Tesla cars equipped with the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches after numerous collisions.

Safety Agency Finds Safety Regulation Violations

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

This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly requesting a recall of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The agency reported it had received reports of 2.88 million Tesla cars driving through red lights and traveling in the incorrect way during lane switching while operating the technology.

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

The authority reported that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Further Issues Identified

The NHTSA stated it has found 18 reports and one news account claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and show the proper light status in the car's display”.

Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's planned actions as the vehicle was coming to a red traffic signal”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

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

In October 2024, the agency started an investigation into over two million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four reported collisions in situations of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, mist or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was fatal.

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 steering wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these features are engineered to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not make the car self-driving.”

Self-driving vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the technology advances and real-world testing reveals possible issues with current implementations.