Waymo is recalling 3,871 of its robotaxis due to an issue that led the vehicles to drive into construction zones on freeways.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in its report submitted Wednesday that Waymo decided to initiate the recall on June 8 because the vehicles “may enter and drive at speed in freeway construction zones due to inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone.”
In the Phoenix area, Waymo robotaxis drove past signs advising about ramp closures and into construction zones once on April 11 and five separate times on April 19. In the San Francisco Bay area, seven Waymo vehicles drove between lane closure cones on May 18, according to the NHTSA report.
“The Waymo started freaking out as we got closer to the merge cause the lanes were kind of all merging,” Elliot Slade, who was a passenger in one of the San Francisco area Waymos that drove into a construction zone along with his fiancee, told KPIX-TV.
Mr. Slade also told KPIX-TV that “it accelerated to highway speeds down this construction lane. … What was scary was that for the first time, we felt completely helpless. You can’t jump into the seat. No one was picking up. It was going at 70 [mph] on this construction lane into what we thought were like trucks. And police and everything.”
The Waymo ultimately stopped speeding up, went into a residential neighborhood and stopped. A company representative called the robotaxi and Mr. Slade and his fiancee exited. Mr. Slade told KPIX-TV that Waymo offered them three rides worth up to $40 apiece for free in the future, though he told the TV station he was unsure if he’d take the offer.
Prior to the recall, Waymo robotaxis had been driving on freeways in the Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix and San Francisco Bay areas, according to CNBC.
“We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA,” Waymo told CNBC in a statement.
The issue affects the fifth-generation automated driving system. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, launched the newer sixth-generation automated driving system earlier this year.
