Waymo is recalling thousands of robotaxis after some of its vehicles drove into freeway construction zones.
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Waymo is recalling 3,871 robotaxis in the US due to a software issue that could cause vehicles to drive into freeway construction zones.According to a recall report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday, there were 13 instances in which Waymo vehicles entered restricted construction areas.Six incidents in April involved vehicles failing to recognize ramp-closure signs and driving into pre-planned freeway construction zones in Phoenix.The other seven incidents occurred in May, when vehicles entered freeway lanes with active construction in the San Francisco Bay Area "by driving between cones designating lane closure in the adjacent lane," per the filing.The report did not indicate whether any crashes or injuries occurred.According to the recall acknowledgment letter, Waymo has limited freeway driving and plans to update its software to prevent vehicles from entering construction zones while it works on a permanent fix."We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones," a Waymo spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. "We 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."
