SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has recalled 3,871 vehicles equipped with its fifth-generation automated driving system after federal safety regulators said the software could allow a driverless vehicle to enter a closed freeway construction zone and keep driving, increasing crash risk.
The voluntary recall, filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under campaign number 26E035000, applies nationwide in the United States. Waymo said it has also modified its operations in the interim to restrict freeway driving while it develops a fix.
According to NHTSA’s recall report, the issue is that the automated driving system may not keep the vehicle from driving into a closed freeway construction area. The agency said the consequence is an increased risk of a crash.
Waymo said the remedy is under development and will be provided through a free software update. The company said the updated software will better detect construction zones and keep vehicles from entering them.
In an email statement quoted by CNBC, Waymo said it “recognized an opportunity for enhancement concerning performance near freeway construction sites.” The company said it had “voluntarily limited our operations on freeways while implementing improvements, proactively informed both state and federal regulators, and opted to file a voluntary software recall with the NHTSA.”
Waymo also told CNBC that it continues to “safely serve passengers on surface streets across all the cities in which we operate.”
The federal filing reviewed incidents in Phoenix and in the San Francisco Bay Area before the recall was filed. Fox News, citing the NHTSA report, said one incident was recorded on April 11, five on April 19 and seven on May 18.
That Bay Area reference gives the recall local relevance in San Francisco, where the filing said some of the incidents occurred. The recall does not change the fact that Waymo is still operating on surface streets, but it does limit freeway use while the company works on the software update.
Fox News also reported that Waymo said no collisions or injuries were reported from the incidents reviewed.
The NHTSA report is dated June 12. CNBC reported on the recall on June 18 after the filing became public, and Fox News reported the campaign number and incident details on June 23.
