NHTSA orders autonomous firms to fix emergency interference

The top U.S. road safety regulator has ordered autonomous vehicle developers to urgently fix a persistent pattern of their driverless cars interfering with law enforcement and other first responders. In a directive issued on Wednesday, July 8, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded that companies present solutions by the end of July.

NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison detailed numerous documented incidents in a letter to the industry. He cited instances where autonomous vehicles have driven into active emergency scenes, blocked the paths of ambulances and firefighters, or failed to recognize and respond to basic safety conditions like flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and traffic cones. Morrison stated that the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency, adding that emergency scenes are not rare or extreme edge cases. The agency emphasized that an autonomous vehicle that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public.

While the letter did not name specific companies, the details align with publicly reported incidents involving Waymo, which operates the largest...