Nearly 4,000 vehicles recalled for driving past closure warnings and between cones marking shut lanes
Waymo is recalling nearly 4,000 robotaxis after its vehicles repeatedly failed to recognize freeway construction zones, in some cases driving past closure signs or between cones marking closed lanes.A total of 3,871 vehicles equipped with Waymo’s fifth-generation Automated Driving System (ADS) are affected, and the interim workaround is to restrict freeway driving until a fix is available.Six events were logged in Phoenix, Arizona, in April, during which vehicles drove past ramp-closure signs into pre-planned freeway construction zones. The response of Waymo's Field Safety Committee was to implement freeway driving restrictions.
There were seven incidents in May in the San Francisco Bay Area, where vehicles drove between cones designating a lane closure. According to the Safety Recall Report, this was "due to the ADS inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone."
The response was further freeway driving restrictions until the company could get to the bottom of the problem. On June 8, Waymo's Safety Board decided to conduct a recall.Vehicles not capable of driverless operation on freeways are not affected and have not been recalled.The recall comes a month after Waymo disclosed that flooding could confuse its vehicles on high-speed roads, prompting another software fix.Waymo's vehicles operate in several US cities and have recently been sighted on the streets of London, albeit with a human ready to take control if needed.
