Federal regulators determined the vehicles pose significant danger due to a defect that caused one empty taxi to be swept away by flood waters.
Waymo has recalled 3,791 of its robotaxis. The recall comes after one of its empty driverless taxis failed to cease driving during flood conditions in San Antonio last month. The vehicle entered a flooded lane and was swept into a nearby waterway. While no one was injured in the incident, federal regulators determined that the vehicles equipped with the company’s 5th and 6th generation Automated Driving Systems (ADS) have a "100% defect rate," posing a significant safety risk.
Fox Business reports, "Federal regulators said the first incident occurred on April 20, when an unoccupied Waymo vehicle encountered an "untraversable flooded section" of roadway with a 40 mph speed limit. That same day, Waymo implemented additional restrictions to reduce the risk of similar incidents in inclement weather, including updates to weather-related controls and changes to mapping systems used by its vehicles."
The affected vehicles were manufactured between March 17, 2022, and April 20, 2026.
Read the full story below.
FULL STORY: Waymo recalls massive autonomous fleet after incident flags major safety issue
Waymo’s Ojai robotaxis from China now able to pick up all riders
Steep tariffs and tight federal laws haven’t stopped Waymo from purchasing over 3,200 vehicles from Zeekr, a Chinese manufacturer.
A Waymo urbanist employee claims: we're on the same team
"Waymo, city officials, and urbanists have common cause."
Judge orders Waymo to stop using 2 Santa Monica charging stations after noise complaints
Neighbors have asked the city to ban the company from using charging stations in residential areas between 11pm and 6am.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association