US regulator opens Waymo investigation 

Waymo, the self-driving car division of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is under investigation by federal regulators over reports of nearly two dozen incidents involving Waymo cars using its self-driving system, the government announced Tuesday. .

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s Office of Deficiency Investigation has identified 22 crashes in which Waymo vehicles equipped with Waymo’s fifth-generation self-driving system were “the only vehicle activated during the crash” or “violated traffic safety.” After receiving the report, we began an investigation. This violates the law,” the regulator said in its investigation announcement.

Reported accidents include collisions with stationary and semi-stationary objects, including gates and chains, and parked vehicles. Other accidents included “right-of-the-moment” crashes in which self-driving systems exhibited unexpected behavior near traffic safety controls.

The regulator said public reports also identified incidents involving vehicles driving in oncoming traffic or entering construction zones.

This study evaluates the performance of automated driving systems in detecting and responding to traffic control devices and in collision avoidance.

A Waymo spokesperson defended the company’s safety and performance in a statement regarding the investigation.

“Waymo currently delivers more than 50,000 trips each week to riders in some of the most difficult and complex environments. We have a performance and safety record of over tens of millions of miles in autonomous driving, and We are proud of our proven commitment to safety transparency. NHTSA plays a critical role in road safety, and we will continue to work with NHTSA as part of our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver. We will continue to cooperate,” the spokesperson said.

NHTSA has also opened investigations into other self-driving vehicle units, including General Motors’ Cruise, Amazon’s Zoox, and Tesla.