Waymo has voluntarily filed a recall report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) relating to software that was previously installed on its fleet. The robotaxi provider chose to do this after consultation with NHTSA and its own internal review of two incidents that occurred in what it described as “a rare scenario in Phoenix on December 11, 2023, which resulted in no injuries and minor vehicle damage”.
The company says its entire fleet was updated with software to address this rare issue between December 20, 2023 and January 12, 2024, while it also confirmed its ride-hailing service is not and has not been interrupted by this update.
Typically a recall serves to inform the owner of a vehicle of a required repair. In this instance, Waymo has filed a recall notice, which serves to inform the public of a software update that it began to deploy across its fleet in December 2023.
“This voluntary recall reflects how seriously we take our responsibility to safely deploy our technology and to transparently communicate with the public,” the company said in a statement on its website. “There are hundreds of recall reports submitted annually to NHTSA and we respect the importance of this road safety framework and our relevant legal obligations.”
Background
On December 11, 2023 in Phoenix, a Waymo vehicle made contact with a backwards-facing pickup truck being improperly towed ahead of the Waymo vehicle such that the pickup truck was persistently angled across a center turn lane and a traffic lane. Following contact, the tow truck and towed pickup truck did not pull over or stop traveling, and a few minutes later another Waymo vehicle made contact with the same pickup truck while it was being towed in the same manner. Neither Waymo vehicle was transporting riders at the time, and the company says no injuries occurred and only minor vehicle damage was sustained.
“Given our commitment to safety, our team went to work immediately to understand what happened,” Waymo’s statement continued. “We determined that due to the persistent orientation mismatch of the towed pickup truck and tow truck combination, the Waymo AV incorrectly predicted the future motion of the towed vehicle. After developing, rigorously testing and validating a fix, on December 20, 2023 we began deploying a software update to our fleet to address this issue.
“On December 11, 2023, we informed the Phoenix Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety of these two collisions. We also promptly informed NHTSA of the incidents on December 15, 2023, and we’ve engaged in four subsequent conversations with NHTSA staff on this topic between December 2023 and February 2024. Based on our own analysis and our consultations with NHTSA, we concluded that it would be appropriate to submit a voluntary recall report of the software present on our fleet at the time of the two collisions.
“At Waymo, we are committed to improving road safety. To date, we have driven over 10 million fully autonomous miles and served over one million ride-hail trips, always putting safety first. Our latest research – part of a comprehensive body of work including more than 20 safety papers – found that the Waymo Driver’s performance led to a significant reduction in the rates of police-reported and injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers in the cities where we operate. As we serve more riders in more cities, we will continue our safety first approach, working to earn trust and foster transparent communication with our riders, community members, regulators, and policymakers.”