Robotaxis are under investigation for crashing into parked vehicles.
In the USA, Waymo, which provides services with fully driverless robotaxis and is also conducting tests, is under investigation. The reason for this is that the vehicles have been crashing into parked cars.
Driverless, fully autonomous vehicles will soon become a part of our roads. Currently, in some countries, particularly in the USA, these vehicles are actively being used in urban traffic. One of the companies developing such vehicles is Waymo. Although the company is transporting passengers in several cities in the USA with its level 5 autonomous vehicles, the number of incidents they are involved in is not small. Recently, Waymo has come under investigation due to issues such as its vehicles crashing into parked cars.
Waymo under investigation in the USA.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating 22 incidents involving Waymo vehicles equipped with the company’s fifth-generation autonomous driving system. It is reported that 17 of these incidents involved collisions, though none resulted in injuries. Some of the reports were directly submitted by Waymo.
The incidents involve unilateral collisions with fixed and semi-fixed objects like cones and chains, as well as instances where Waymo vehicles did not adhere to certain traffic rules. Many of the reports highlight issues stemming from Waymo’s automated driving systems. Some incidents specifically mention Waymo vehicles crashing into parked cars.
On the other hand, while Waymo acknowledges some issues, it asserts that its vehicles are much better than human drivers at preventing more serious accidents. The company claims that in the three cities where it operates, human drivers are four to seven times more likely to cause injuries than Waymo vehicles. Despite these claims, Waymo emphasizes the importance of NHTSA, stating that they continuously update their autonomous systems based on these reports.
