PHOENIX — Waymo said they are making software improvements to thousands of their vehicles after several drove into construction zones on highways in Phoenix and San Francisco in recent months.
According to the Safety Recall Report submitted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,800 vehicles have been identified as needing safety upgrades, specifically when driving around construction zones.
The report said that a Waymo autonomous vehicle (AV) drove past ramp closure signs and into pre-planned freeway construction zones in Phoenix on April 11. The same thing happened again five more times on Phoenix highways on April 19.
The Arizona Department of Transportation confirmed these incidents happened on SR 51 during the ongoing pavement rehabilitation project.
A day later, Waymo’s Field Safety Committee began meetings reviewing the events.
The report also found seven incidents on May 19 when Waymo AVs drove between cones designating lane closures on a freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area "inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone.”
The company, which began rolling out on freeways late last year, pulled its cars off the high-speed routes last month.
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“Waymo’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted driver, and the data shows that we’re making roads safer in the communities in which we operate,” the company said in a statement. "We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones. We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA. We continue to safely serve riders on surface streets in all the cities where we operate.”
Associate professor and researcher of autonomous vehicle technology at Arizona State University, Yan Chen, said he’s not overly concerned about the recall, saying that the software upgrades are important for long-term safety on the roads.
“I’m very optimistic of this technology,” Chen said. “Consider the risk. I think definitely this is a new development and it will also impact people’s lives in the long and very deep way for future years.”
Waymo rides will continue on surface streets.
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