/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25447170/2148025892.jpg "Waymo’s robotaxis are under investigation for crashes and traffic law violations")
Waymo’s robotaxis are under investigation for crashes and traffic law violations
By Andrew J. Hawkins , transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.
Federal safety investigators have opened a preliminary investigation into dozens of incidents involving Waymo’s driverless vehicles, including several “single-party” crashes and possible traffic law violations.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation is looking into 22 incidents in which Waymo’s robotaxis were “the sole vehicle operated during a collision” or “exhibited driving behavior that potentially violated traffic safety laws.”
These include “collisions with stationary and semi-stationary objects such as gates and chains, collisions with parked vehicles, and instances in which the ADS appeared to disobey traffic safety control devices.” NHTSA is also looking into reports of Waymo vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road or illegally entering construction sites.
Some of the incidents were reported by Waymo under NHTSA’s standing general order requiring companies to report collisions involving autonomous vehicles, while others were collected from public sources.
