American Regulators Begin Investigation into Self-Driving Tesla Vehicles Following Series of Collisions
US automobile safety regulators have commenced an probe into Tesla cars featuring the autonomous driving system due to traffic-safety violations after several accidents.
Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches
The federal safety agency announced that the automaker's autonomous driving feature, which requires motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced car behavior that breached traffic safety laws”.
This preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA marks the first step before potentially seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the authority concludes they present a danger to road safety.
Concerning Incident Reports
The regulatory body stated it had documented accounts of 2.88 million Tesla cars running red traffic lights and moving against the wrong way during lane switching while operating the technology.
NHTSA stated it has six documented cases in which a Tesla vehicle, using full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red traffic signal, proceeded to travel into the intersection despite the red signal and was later involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.
The authority noted that four crashes had resulted in injuries to occupants.
Further Issues Identified
The NHTSA announced it has found 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, operating at an junction with FSD active, did not stay stopped 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”.
Several reporters also claimed that FSD “did not provide warnings of the technology's planned behaviour as the car was approaching a red traffic signal”.
Continuing Official Examination
The full self-driving system, which is more sophisticated than its Autopilot system, has been being examined by NHTSA for a year.
In late 2024, the authority began an investigation into 2.4 million Tesla cars equipped with FSD after four documented crashes in situations of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in 2023, was deadly.
Company's Stated Position
The company's official position indicates that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert motorist, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to assume control at any moment. While these capabilities are engineered to become more capable, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle self-driving.”
Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.
