Waymo suspends all freeway rides over safety issues
4 hours ago
- #Autonomous Vehicles
- #Software Updates
- #Safety Recalls
- Waymo has suspended all freeway services to update software for better handling of construction zones, though no specific incidents were confirmed.
- The freeway suspension affects San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami, with no timeline provided for resumption.
- In addition to freeway pauses, Waymo has halted operations in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio due to incidents involving vehicles entering flooded roads and being swept away, prompting a recall of 3,791 vehicles.
- Previous recalls include incidents in Phoenix where Waymo vehicles crashed into the same towed car, collisions with objects like gates and poles, and erratic behavior around school buses.
- Waymo is under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after a vehicle struck a child in Santa Monica, causing minor injuries.
- During a San Francisco power outage in December, Waymo's fleet stalled over 1,500 times, blocking intersections and emergency vehicles, with 911 calls experiencing long hold times.
- At a March hearing, Waymo apologized for its blackout response but acknowledged reliance on first responders to move malfunctioning vehicles, a situation criticized as unsustainable by city officials.