The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has intensified its investigation into Waymo, the autonomous vehicle arm of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), after identifying more incidents involving collisions or potential traffic law violations by the company’s self-driving cars.
In a letter addressed to Waymo, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation revealed that it had uncovered nine additional incidents with similar patterns since initiating a preliminary evaluation on May 13. These incidents involved 17 Waymo vehicles colliding with objects such as gates, chains, and parked cars. Additionally, the agency cited five instances where Waymo’s automated-driving system appeared to contravene traffic rules, including driving in opposing lanes with nearby oncoming traffic.
The letter, dated May 23 and published on the agency’s website, highlighted that some of the new incidents were reported by Waymo under a standing order from 2021, requiring automakers to notify regulators of any accidents involving automated driving systems. Other incidents were identified by regulators through publicly available information.
Expressing concern over the unexpected driving behaviors exhibited by Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, the defects office emphasized the potential risk of crashes, property damage, and injuries associated with such incidents.
Waymo has yet to respond to the NHTSA’s letter.
This heightened scrutiny from highway safety regulators extends beyond Waymo, encompassing both driver-assistance systems and advanced autonomous vehicles. Recent investigations have been initiated into Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot, Ford Motor Co.’s BlueCruise, and Amazon.com Inc.’s Zoox.
Moreover, in October, the NHTSA launched an investigation into potential defects in the automated-driving system developed by General Motors Co.’s self-driving unit, Cruise. This followed a settlement of over $8 million reached by Cruise after one of its vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian.
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