Waymo’s Software Recall Announcement
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced a recall of the software used in its self-driving vehicles. This decision comes after officials in Austin reported that these vehicles failed to stop for school buses.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent a letter to Waymo on Wednesday, indicating that its Office of Defects Investigation would begin a preliminary evaluation. This investigation aims to assess the performance of Waymo’s automated driving system concerning stopped school buses and its adherence to traffic safety laws.
On Friday, Waymo’s Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña stated that maintaining high safety standards requires acknowledging areas for improvement. Consequently, the company has opted for a voluntary software recall with NHTSA to enhance the vehicle’s ability to slow down and stop appropriately in such scenarios.
NHTSA initiated its probe into Waymo in October due to similar concerns raised in Atlanta. Officials from the Austin Independent School District have communicated multiple times with Waymo, including a letter dated November 20 that detailed 19 instances where Waymo vehicles allegedly passed stopped school buses during the current school year.
Austin school officials noted that five out of these 19 incidents occurred after Waymo had claimed to update its software to address this issue. They highlighted one particular incident where a Waymo vehicle was recorded driving past a stopped bus just moments after a student crossed in front of it while still on the road.
Despite these incidents, Waymo representatives maintain that their vehicles are significantly safer than human drivers. Mr. Peña mentioned in an interview with Fox Business that “Waymo experiences twelve times fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians than human drivers.”
