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After driving into floodwater, gates, and telephone poles, Waymo\u2019s robotaxis are being recalled yet again for driving into hazards. This time, Waymo\u2019s fleet of nearly 4,000 vehicles is being recalled after at least 13 instances of the cars driving into construction zones on highways.<\/p>\n
Seven of those incidents occurred in a single day in San Francisco. On May 18, seven of Waymo\u2019s robotaxis drove into active construction zones on highways in the Bay Area, reportedly because the company\u2019s software was \u201cprioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and\/or failing to recognize the construction zone,\u201d per filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).<\/p>\n
One of these incidents was captured and posted to social media<\/a> by Waymo passenger Elliot Slade, who was riding with his fianc\u00e9e when the driverless vehicle accelerated into a construction zone.<\/p>\n “There were construction signs,” Slade told CBS News<\/em><\/a> of the incident. “There were lights going on. Police in the distance and it sped up. That’s when I looked at my fianc\u00e9e, we’re done. This is it. We’re dead. We’re going to die right here in the Waymo.”<\/p>\n According to Slade, the Waymo sped up for approximately 20 seconds, before pulling off the highway and pulling over in a residential neighborhood. He added that Waymo offered him three free rides up to $40 each as an apology.<\/p>\n The next day on May 19, all Waymos were pulled from highways. According to the NHTSA filings, a solution is \u201ccurrently under development.\u201d In the meantime, Waymos are still operating on surface streets.<\/p>\n The recall, issued on June 8, comes amid a massive planned expansion for Waymo, with launches planned for 21 more cities in 2026 alone, including the first Waymos in the United Kingdom and Japan.<\/p>\n Waymos driving into construction zones is only the latest snafu in a long list for the company. This recall is the sixth for the robotaxi brand, with previous recalls motivated by issues including illegal driving around school buses<\/a> and driving on flooded roads<\/a>. <\/p>\n Waymo\u2019s driving software is currently under investigation by the NHTSA and National Transportation Safety Board for a January incident where a Waymo struck a child during a school drop-off.<\/p>\n The brand also made headlines in May for bizarre behavior by its fleet in Atlanta, when dozens of cars converged on a residential cul-de-sace in Atlanta every morning for no apparent reason. (At the time, social media users wondered if the ritual meant Waymos were inventing their own religion<\/a>.)<\/p>\n In a statement to Fast Company<\/em>, a Waymo spokesperson explained the rationale for its latest recall.<\/p>\n \u201cWaymo\u2019s mission is to be the world\u2019s most trusted driver, and the data shows that we\u2019re making roads safer in the communities in which we operate,\u201d the spokesperson says. Waymo\u2019s safety impact analyses<\/a> say that the brand\u2019s robotaxis get into serious injury or worse crashes 92% less than human drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones,\u201d the spokesperson adds. \u201cWe voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA. We continue to safely serve riders on surface streets in all the cities where we operate.\u201d<\/p>\nWay more Waymo woes<\/h2>\n