Waymo recalled 1,200 self-driving vehicles. How does this affect Austin?
Autonomous vehicle company Waymo has recalled 1,200 self-driving vehicles to update software after some were involved in minor collisions with chains, gates and other roadway barriers.
In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Alphabet-owned company said its Safety Board decided to conduct a recall to update Waymo's fifth-generation automated driving system software, affected roughly 1,212 self-driving vehicles.
But how does this affect Austin, Waymo's newest market?
Waymo told the American-Statesman that the recall was submitted this week, but the software issue was resolved late last year.
In November, Waymo updated approximately 1,200 vehicles operating with the fifth-generation Waymo Driver software. The company said the update significantly decreased the likelihood of these types of events.
The recall, the company told the American-Statesman Wednesday evening, does not impact operations or any vehicles currently on the road, including in Austin. No vehicles will be replaced, the company said.
U.S. auto safety investigators opened a probe into Waymo last year related to "unexpected behavior" of the company's self-driving cars.
Waymo said in its filing with the NHTSA that it was aware of 16 collisions with chains, gates and other barriers between 2022 and late 2024. None of those collisions resulted in injuries and the majority were low speed collisions. None of those "relevant collisions" were in Austin, Waymo told the American-Statesman.
'Waymo provides more than 250,000 paid trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments in the U.S.," the company said Wednesday. "We hold ourselves to a high safety standard, and our record of reducing injuries over tens of millions of fully autonomous miles driven shows our technology is making roads safer. NHTSA plays a vital role in road safety, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the agency as part of our mission to be the world's most trusted driver.'
Waymo currently has more than 1,500 vehicles on the road in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.
Uber and Waymo officially launched its autonomous vehicle service in Austin ahead of South by Southwest Conference and Festivals in March.
Data from market research website YipitData showed that Austinites were embracing Waymos, with the site's analysis showing that autonomous rides in Austin were over 80% higher than those in San Francisco during its launch there.
More: Latest data show Austinites are embracing Waymos; rival Tesla taxi just months from launch
Autonomous vehicles have faced intense scrutiny in recent years.
Waymo previously recalled 444 of its autonomous vehicles in February 2024 after two minor collisions in quick succession in Arizona. The company said a software error could cause the car to inaccurately predict the movement of a towed vehicle. After that, the company recalled 670 vehicles in June after one struck a wooden utility pole in Arizona a month prior.
General Motors decided to shut down its Cruise robotaxi development, laying off almost half of the division's workforce, including its several of Cruise's top executives, were laid off earlier this year. GM's Cruise faced serious criticism after a San Francisco woman was seriously injured by a Cruise vehicle in 2023.
Amazon.com's self-driving unit Zoox recalled 270 of its driverless vehicles last week after one of the company's unoccupied robotaxis was involved in a crash with a passenger car in Las Vegas. No one was injured.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Does Waymo's recall affect Austin? Company says no.
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