American Authorities Launch Investigation into Autonomous Teslas Following Series of Crashes
US automobile safety regulators have started an probe into Tesla vehicles featuring the full self-driving technology 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 self-driving assistance system, which demands motorists to stay alert and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.
This initial assessment by the NHTSA represents the first step before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to road safety.
Concerning Case Findings
The agency stated it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla cars driving through red traffic lights and moving against the incorrect direction during lane changes while operating the system.
NHTSA stated it has six reports in which a Tesla car, using full self-driving engaged, “approached an junction with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the crossroads despite the red signal and was later involved in a collision with other cars in the intersection”.
The agency noted that four accidents had caused injuries to occupants.
Additional Safety Concerns
The NHTSA stated it has identified 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla cars, operating at an junction with FSD active, “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or failed to accurately detect and show the proper light status in the car's display”.
Some complainants also stated that FSD “failed to give alerts of the technology's intended actions as the vehicle was coming to 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 October 2024, the authority began an inquiry into 2.4 million Tesla cars using FSD after four reported collisions in conditions of poor visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One such accident, in last year, was deadly.
Company's Official Stance
Tesla's website states that FSD is “intended for operation by a completely alert driver, who has their hands on the steering wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are engineered to become more capable, the presently active functions do not make the vehicle autonomous.”
Automated vehicle technology continue to face increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies as the systems develop and practical implementation reveals possible issues with existing deployments.
