Topline
Waymo is recalling nearly 3,800 driverless cars, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday, over a driving software issue that could cause cars to drive through flooded roadways.
Waymo said it was working on a software update to remedy the issue.
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Key Facts
Waymo will recall a total of 3,791 driverless cars, all of which are equipped with the company’s 5th and 6th generation automated driving systems.
In a notification sent to the NHTSA, the company said it identified a software problem that could cause their vehicles to slow down and proceed to drive through “standing water on higher speed roadways.”
A remedy for the software issue is still under development, Waymo said in its filings, but the company installed an interim remedy by restricting how their vehicles operate during inclement weather.
What Prompted The Recall?
On April 20, an empty Waymo vehicle encountered a flooded lane on a highway with a 40 mile per hour speed limit. The filing didn’t mention where the incident occurred, but Reuters reported it happened in San Antonio, where local news reported the company briefly paused service a day later during intense rain. According to the filing, the vehicle “detected potentially untraversable flood water,” but proceeded to drive through it anyway at a reduced speed. Waymo added new restrictions to its vehicles the same day, which include “weather-related operational controls and changes to the maps used by Waymo vehicles.”
Crucial Quote
“We have identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways, and have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to this scenario,” Chris Bonelli, a spokesperson for Waymo told Forbes in a statement. “We are working to implement additional software safeguards and have put mitigations in place, including refining our extreme weather operations during periods of intense rain, limiting access to areas where flash flooding might occur.”
Tangent
Waymo is also facing a separate NHTSA investigation after a driverless car struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California in January. The incident occurred during a school drop off time, and was near “other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles,” according to the NHTSA. The company said the autonomous vehicle detected the child immediately and braked to reduce its speed to six miles per hour by the time it made contact wit the child, Reuters reported.