The US’s important transportation security regulator stated on Monday it had opened a preliminary investigation into about 2,000 Waymo self-driving autos after stories that the corporate’s robotaxis could have did not comply with site visitors security legal guidelines round stopped faculty buses.
The investigation by the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) is the most recent federal evaluation of self-driving techniques as regulators scrutinize how driverless applied sciences work together with pedestrians, cyclists and different highway customers.
NHTSA stated the Workplace of Defects Investigation opened the evaluation after flagging a media report describing an incident through which a Waymo autonomous automobile didn’t stay stationary when approaching a college bus with its crimson lights flashing, cease arm deployed and crossing management arm prolonged.
The report stated the Waymo automobile initially stopped beside the bus then maneuvered round its entrance, passing the prolonged cease arm and crossing management arm whereas college students had been disembarking.
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Waymo has stated its robotaxi fleet has greater than 1,500 autos working throughout main US cities, together with Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin and New York Metropolis subsequent yr. The Alphabet-owned firm additionally plans to develop internationally, with launches in cities together with London in 2026 Tokyo within the coming years.
A Waymo spokesperson stated the corporate had “already developed and applied enhancements associated to stopping for college buses and can land further software program updates in our subsequent software program launch”.
The corporate added: “Driving safely round youngsters has all the time been certainly one of Waymo’s highest priorities. Within the occasion referenced, the automobile approached the varsity bus from an angle the place the flashing lights and cease signal weren’t seen and drove slowly across the entrance of the bus earlier than driving previous it, preserving a protected distance from youngsters.”
NHTSA stated the automobile concerned was geared up with Waymo’s fifth-generation automated driving system and was working and not using a human security driver on the time of the incident.
