The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has launched a probe into Waymo’s autonomous vehicle software following 22 reports of the company’s robotaxis crashing or potentially violating traffic safety laws . The investigation aims to evaluate the software’s ability to avoid collisions with stationary objects and detect and respond to traffic safety control devices like cones.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has been at the forefront of developing autonomous vehicle technology. However, the company’s robotaxis have recently been involved in a series of mishaps, raising concerns about the safety and reliability of their autonomous driving software.
ODI’s report cites several incidents where Waymo’s vehicles drove into construction zones, causing damage to the vehicles’ underbodies. In one such incident in Phoenix, Arizona, last October, a Waymo robotaxi drove off a paved roadway and into a construction zone, sustaining significant damage.
The report also mentions more common fender-benders, such as a Waymo AV clipping an SUV while waiting to merge into traffic in San Francisco, California, and another incident where a Waymo AV ran into the bumper of a parked car while attempting a “pullover maneuver.”
Interestingly, many of the crashes cited in ODI’s report involve Waymo’s robotaxis struggling to navigate automatic gates at parking complexes. In some cases, the AVs crashed into the gates, while in others, they encountered closed gates and, when turning to leave the area, backed into parking spikes or other obstacles .
These incidents highlight the challenges autonomous vehicle technology faces when dealing with corner cases and unpredictable scenarios. While these situations may not be life-threatening, they demonstrate the complexity of developing truly autonomous vehicles that can handle all possible driving conditions.
In response to the investigation, Waymo stated, “NHTSA plays a very important role in road safety and we will continue to work with them as part of our mission to become the world’s most trusted driver.”
This investigation comes just three months after Waymo issued its first-ever recall of its autonomous software, following two of its vehicles crashing into the same towed pickup truck in Phoenix, Arizona .
The probe into Waymo’s software is the second investigation into autonomous vehicles that ODI has publicly announced in the last two days. On Monday, ODI opened an investigation into Amazon-backed Zoox’s AVs after receiving reports of the company’s autonomous-equipped Toyota Highlanders being rear-ended by motorcycles after the SUVs unexpectedly triggered the brakes.
As autonomous vehicle technology continues to develop, it is crucial for companies like Waymo to address safety concerns and ensure their software can handle the wide range of scenarios encountered in real-world driving conditions. The outcome of ODI’s investigation will likely have significant implications for the future of autonomous vehicle development and regulation.
