Waymo Recalls Thousands of Robotaxis After Self-Driving Car Swept into Creek
Waymo is recalling nearly 3,800 of its autonomous vehicles across the U.S. to address a software glitch that fails to detect deep water. The Alphabet-owned company issued the voluntary recall after identifying a risk where its robotaxis could "drive onto a flooded roadway," particularly on roads with higher speed limits.
The decision follows a dramatic incident on April 20th in San Antonio, Texas, where an empty Waymo vehicle drove into a submerged lane during a storm and was swept away into a creek. While no one was hurt, the accident triggered a review of how the company's fifth and sixth-generation driving systems handle impassable roads during heavy rain.
In the wake of the San Antonio accident, Waymo has temporarily halted its passenger service in that city. The company told reporters it is "readying operations to resume public rides" once a permanent software fix is deployed.
In the meantime, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said that Waymo has already implemented temporary updates. These "mitigations" include narrowing the areas where the cars can drive during extreme weather to avoid "areas where flash flooding might occur."
Waymo defended its record in a statement on Tuesday, saying:
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority.”
The company added that it has "identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways."
This recall is the latest in a series of technical headaches for the robotaxi giant. Critics have recently pointed to other software failures, including:
School Bus Violations: Vehicles in Austin, Texas, reportedly failed to stop for school buses with activated lights.
Gridlock and Outages: A massive power failure in San Francisco last December caused Waymo taxis to stall in the streets, creating city-wide traffic jams.
Pedestrian Incidents: Federal regulators are investigating a January incident in Santa Monica where a Waymo car struck a child, causing minor injuries.
Experts suggest these "growing pains" are inevitable as autonomous technology expands. Jack Stilgoe, a professor at University College London, observed that we often only discover the boundaries of what these cars can do "when something goes wrong." He noted that "policymakers would prefer to know about these things in advance rather than discovering them in hindsight."
Despite the setback, Waymo’s expansion continues. The firm currently operates in 11 U.S. markets, including San Francisco, Phoenix, and Miami, and is still aiming to launch a robotaxi service in London by this September.
