Saturday, July 11, 2026

NHTSA orders robotaxi firms to fix first-responder interference

Waymo

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on July 8 sent letters to autonomous-vehicle developers demanding they fix a 'clear pattern' of driverless cars interfering with police, firefighters, ambulances and other first responders, calling the failures a 'functional insufficiency' rather than a rare edge case. Regulators cited multiple incidents - including Waymo vehicles that had to be moved by officers during emergencies - and gave companies until the end of July to explain how they will detect and respond to emergency scenes. Waymo, which operates the largest U.S. robotaxi fleet, said it is reviewing the request as it continues its multi-city expansion.