SAN FRANCISCO, June 24 (San Francisco News Online) — Waymo has voluntarily recalled 3,871 vehicles equipped with its fifth-generation automated driving system after federal safety regulators said the software could let a driverless vehicle enter a closed freeway construction zone and keep driving, including incidents reported in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the condition increases the risk of a crash. The recall is listed as campaign number 26E035000.
In its recall filing, Waymo said the remedy is under development and will be provided free of charge. The company said it will update the automated driving software so the vehicles can better detect construction zones and avoid entering them.
Waymo also said it has already modified the scope of vehicle operations to restrict freeway driving while the fix is being developed. The company said passengers are still being served on surface streets across the cities where it operates.
The federal filing points to incidents in both Arizona and California. It said the company reviewed one incident on April 11 in Phoenix, five incidents on April 19 in Phoenix, and seven incidents on May 18 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In the Bay Area cases, the filing said the vehicles entered active freeway construction lanes by driving between cones. In the Phoenix examples, the vehicles drove past ramp closure signs into pre-planned freeway construction zones.
NHTSA said the recall was filed because the software may allow a Waymo vehicle to enter a closed freeway construction zone and continue driving at speed. The agency said driving through a closed construction zone increases the risk of a crash.
Waymo said it found no collisions or injuries in the incidents it reviewed. The company said it had identified an area for improvement around freeway construction sites and chose to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA after notifying state and federal regulators.
The company said it had also voluntarily limited freeway operations while it worked on improvements. Waymo’s statement said it continues to safely serve passengers on surface streets across the cities in which it operates.
The recall gives the Bay Area a local connection to a national safety action. The recall is not a shutdown of Waymo service, but it does mean freeway travel is being restricted while the software update is built and rolled out.
