Waymo is recalling 3,791 autonomous taxis after a software defect caused some vehicles to drive into flooded roadways, according to a recall report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.
The voluntary recall filed April 30 affects Waymo vehicles operating on the company’s fifth and sixth generation Automated Driving System. The software “may allow the vehicle to slow and then drive into standing water on higher speed roadways,” a NHTSA report said.
“Entering a flooded roadway can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury,” NHTSA said.
The recall followed severe weather in San Antonio, during which a Waymo entered a flooded and impassable road, the company said.
In response, Waymo has increased weather-related constraints on its vehicles and says it is working on additional software safeguards.
“We have identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways, and have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to this scenario,” a Waymo spokesperson said. “Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority.”
Waymo operates in 10 major cities and has issued prior safety-related recalls. Last year, the company recalled more than 1,200 autonomous vehicles after minor crashes involving obstacles in the road.
The Alphabet-owned company has also come under fire for safety incidents, including striking a child outside a school in Santa Monica earlier this year and fatally running over a neighborhood cat in San Francisco.
According to data collected by Waymo over 170 million fully autonomous miles driven, Waymo is 13 times safer than human drivers in crashes involving pedestrians.
The Mountain View-based company is currently ahead in the race to scale robotaxis across the country, with thousands of vehicles transporting paying customers in cities including Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix.
Competitors Zoox and Tesla are trying to catch up with their own self-driving technology, but have yet to match Waymo’s scale and reach.
According to NHSTA, all affected Waymo vehicles received an interim software update to mitigate the issue, but a full remedy for the recall is still under development.
The post Waymo recalls thousands of its driverless cars after some failed to avoid flooded roads appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
