Glitch Allows Waymos to Enter Flooded Roads, Prompting Probe, Voluntary Recall

"Waymo is voluntarily recalling nearly 3,791 robotaxis after federal regulators opened an investigation into reports that the self-driving vehicles have sometimes entered flooded streets instead of stopping or taking a detour. The probe follows an incident last month in San Antonio, Texas, in which an unoccupied Waymo vehicle drove into standing water and was swept into a creek, according to the Chronicle. Additionally, CNBC reports that vehicles in Austin were recently caught on video stalling out after driving onto flooded streets, and similar incidents have been reported in other cities."

"According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall affects vehicles using Waymo's fifth- and sixth-generation automated driving systems, which are designed to slow down but not necessarily stop when encountering potentially flooded roadways. Regulators say this could leave vehicles stranded or cause them to lose control in dangerous conditions. This is likely an over-compensation for previous generations, which caused some Waymo vehicles to come to complete stops in the middle of traffic over small puddles, as seen in this Reddit video."

"The Alphabet-owned company said Tuesday that it has since added restrictions intended to keep vehicles off roads where flash flooding may occur. Waymo told CNBC Tuesday that its service is temporarily suspended in San Antonio and that it's readying operations to resume public rides. Per the Chronicle, the company said there would be no disruptions to service in the Bay Area, as engineers will run the repair on each vehicle when it returns to the depot."

Nearly 3,791 Waymo robotaxis are being voluntarily recalled after federal regulators opened an investigation into reports that self-driving vehicles sometimes enter flooded streets instead of stopping or detouring. The probe follows a San Antonio incident in which an unoccupied vehicle drove into standing water and was swept into a creek. Additional reports include Austin videos showing vehicles stalling after driving onto flooded streets, with similar events in other cities. The recall covers vehicles using Waymo’s fifth- and sixth-generation automated driving systems, which are designed to slow down but may not necessarily stop in potentially flooded conditions. Regulators warn this could strand vehicles or lead to loss of control. Waymo added restrictions to keep vehicles off roads where flash flooding may occur, temporarily suspended service in San Antonio, and plans to resume public rides after repairs at the depot, with no Bay Area disruptions.

Read at sfist.com