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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a directive Wednesday to autonomous vehicle (AV) developers, stating that it is unacceptable for their vehicles to interfere with first responders or law enforcement.<\/p>\n
Morrison noted in the letter<\/a> that the agency has \u201cidentified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders,\u201d citing instances in which these vehicles drove 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.<\/p>\n The agency has demanded that AV developers present their \u201csolutions\u201d to this problem by the end of the month. <\/p>\n \u201cLet me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency,\u201d Morrison\u2019s letter reads. \u201cEmergency scenes are not rare or extreme \u2018edge cases.\u2019 As such, NHTSA is today issuing a call to action for AV developers and operators to immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n The agency doesn\u2019t explicitly call out any particular company in the letter; however, the details suggest it is directed at robotaxi operators like Waymo. <\/p>\n TechCrunch has reached out to Waymo for comment and will update the article once the company responds.<\/p>\n A previous TechCrunch investigation<\/a> found that Waymo \u2014 which operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the United States, with vehicles in cities including Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco \u2014 has had repeated run-ins with first responders. In at least six incidents identified by TechCrunch through March of this year, first responders had to take control of Waymo vehicles and move them out of traffic during emergency situations. In one instance, an officer was in the middle of responding to a mass shooting. In June, an officer was recorded moving a Waymo to unblock a roadway<\/a> for first responders headed to a natural gas explosion at an apartment building.<\/p>\n The agency\u2019s letter to AV developers doesn\u2019t say what the consequences would be if the request is ignored. Nor does it outline what the acceptable solutions would be. But the agency does imply it would hold companies accountable, just as it does human drivers who impede law enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery second matters when law enforcement officers, firefighters, or paramedics are answering a call because lives are on the line,\u201d the letter states. \u201cThat is why human drivers who impede these operations are subject to fines and even jail time.\u201d<\/p>\n The agency also noted in a press release accompanying the letter that it\u2019s making progress on updating Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) requirements, which govern vehicle design and equipment requirements. These proposed changes could help autonomous vehicle companies like Tesla and Zoox, which are developing vehicles without steering wheels, pedals, or other features required on human-driven cars. The agency has already proposed rules that would eliminate the need for windshield wipers, sun visors, defogging systems, and tire placards. The agency released a new\u00a02026 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda<\/a> last week, outlining its proposals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n