Waymo has issued a new safety recall regarding its fleet of nearly 4,000 robotaxis. The cause is a software failure preventing vehicles from recognizing and reacting correctly to highway work zones.
This voluntary recall, filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), affects the Alphabet subsidiary’s 5th generation automated driving system.
What incidents prompted this decision?
At least 13 separate incidents were identified, prompting Waymo to take action. Six of these events occurred in April in Phoenix, where vehicles ” did not recognize and drove past the closing signs “.
Seven other cases were recorded in May in the San Francisco Bay Area, where robotaxis slalomed between traffic cones to enter lanes under construction. Waymo has suspended all highway operations.
What is the cause of this failure?
According to documents filed with NHTSA, the problem is twofold. In some cases, the software did not recognize the construction zone. In others, he inappropriately prioritized avoiding other hazards on the highway, leading him to ignore construction site signals.
Waymo said in a statement: “ We have identified an area of improvement regarding performance around highway construction zones “. A fix is currently in development.
A recall that is not an isolated case for Waymo
This is the sixth recall for the robotaxis service, and the fourth since the start of 2024. In May, a vehicle drove onto a flooded road and this caused a recall. Other fixes concerned collisions with poles, barriers, and even behavior around school buses.
Despite these setbacks, Waymo says its vehicles have demonstrated a significant reduction in serious accidents compared to human drivers.
