Traffic fatalities on U.S. roads declined in the second quarter, halting an almost two-year rise even as Americans are driving more.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is operating without a Senate-confirmed leader again, leaving a void atop the agency tasked with preventing road injuries and deaths even as the number of fatalities moves sharply in the wrong direction.

U.S. auto safety regulators are scrutinizing Tesla Inc.’s in-car camera systems as part of a recently expanded investigation into whether the company’s automated driving technology is defective.

Traffic fatalities on U.S. roads grew 7% in the opening three months of the year, reaching the highest levels for the first quarter since 2002.

Tesla Inc. is facing stepped-up scrutiny from U.S. regulators who have received 758 complaints of cars made by the company that suddenly brake at high speeds, more than double the number of reported incidents earlier this year.

Cars on U.S. roads are as old as they’ve ever been, potentially complicating efforts to expand the use of new safety and emissions-reduction technologies.

The Biden administration ordered carmakers to increase their average fuel economy to about 49 mpg by 2026, in an ambitious effort to make up for progress stalled when President Donald Trump rolled back the efficiency program.

A move by states to soothe the sting of soaring fuel prices by temporarily suspending diesel fuel taxes has some unlikely opponents: truckers, the very people it’s supposed to help.

Tesla Inc. defended the safety benefits of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving driver-assist systems in a response to lawmakers who have criticized the company’s marketing of the technology.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating complaints of Tesla Inc. cars with Autopilot driver assist that suddenly brake at high speeds, the latest in a string of confrontations between the company and safety regulators.