NHTSA Launches Investigations Into Two More Self-Driving Automakers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is separately investigating Waymo and Zoox, two autonomous car makers, over the behavior of their self-driving vehicles.

According to an article by Haley Cawthon in Smart Cities Dive, the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation received 22 reports of Waymo self-driving cars crashing into stationary or semi-stationary objects. “Meanwhile, ODI is investigating two incidents involving Zoox vehicles equipped with its ADS that ‘unexpectedly braked suddenly,’ leading to rear-end collisions.”

The NHTSA also opened investigations into Tesla’s response to a 2-million vehicle recall affecting cars with automated driving tech in December, as well as Ford’s ‘hands-free’ highway driving system.

Local officials in the San Francisco Bay Area, where driverless car companies have concentrated their first deployment efforts, expressed concern about the rapid spread of autonomous cars on city streets, calling on state agencies to delay permits.