The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Wednesday that it is seeking further information regarding a series of incidents involving Alphabet’s Waymo (GOOGL.O) self-driving vehicles.
In May, the U.S. auto safety regulator initiated an investigation following 22 reports concerning Waymo’s robotaxis. These reports raised concerns about driving behaviors potentially in violation of traffic laws or exhibiting unexpected actions, including 17 collisions.
NHTSA highlighted that some incidents involved collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver would typically avoid. The agency has requested Waymo to provide detailed responses to a set of inquiries by August 6, including comprehensive data on all public road travels by their autonomous vehicles. They also seek information on any vehicle grounding incidents and details of testing or updates implemented to address specific incidents.
According to NHTSA, incidents reported include collisions with stationary objects like gates and chains, as well as with parked vehicles. There were also instances where the automated driving system appeared to disregard traffic safety controls.
Waymo has not yet commented on the matter. Earlier this month, the company expressed pride in its safety record and performance across millions of autonomous miles driven.
NHTSA expressed concerns that Waymo’s self-driving vehicles exhibiting unexpected behaviors could heighten the risk of accidents, property damage, and injuries, particularly near other road users such as pedestrians.
This investigation marks NHTSA’s latest scrutiny into the performance of self-driving vehicles, following previous probes into General Motors Cruise (GM.N) and others.
