Waymo Recalls Robotaxis Over Risk They'll Drive at Speed Into Freeway Construction Zones
Key takeaways
- Waymo started offering highway rides in late 2025, and the underlying problem appears to be a failure of priority logic.
- The events that triggered the recall apparently began earlier this year.
- Then, on May 18, seven Waymo vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area drove between construction cones into active lane closures.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photograph: Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Waymo has filed its fourth safety recall since February 2024, after its driverless cars were caught entering closed freeway construction zones.
The recall, filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on June 17, appears to affect Waymo's entire US fleet, covering 3,871 vehicles running Waymo's 5th Generation automated driving system (ADS).
NHTSA estimates 100 precent of the affected units carry the defect, which is outlined in the filed safety recall report as “under certain circumstances, the AV 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.”