Waymo pauses robotaxis in five US cities after cars drive into flooded roads

Waymo has present paused its self-driving car work successful 5 US cities, successful effect to a bundle contented which has seen immoderate vehicles participate flooded roads and get stuck.

The US steadfast recently issued a recall of thousands of robotaxis pursuing an incidental connected 20 April successful San Antonio, Texas erstwhile an bare Waymo conveyance entered a flooded roadworthy and was swept into a creek.

Following a similar incidental successful Atlanta, Georgia, a Waymo spokesperson said it had expanded the impermanent intermission to 5 cities - 4 successful Texas arsenic good arsenic Atlanta - "out of an abundance of caution".

The institution told Reuters it had besides suspended services connected US freeways arsenic it works to amended its cars' performances successful operation zones.

"We proceed to intimately show forecasts, alerts, and unrecorded upwind conditions, and we volition resume serving riders soon," it said.

In response, Waymo issued a voluntary callback of astir 3,800 of its robotaxis that usage the company's 5th and sixth-generation automated driving systems, and said it was moving connected "additional bundle safeguards".

On Wednesday an unoccupied Waymo ​robotaxi was reported trapped successful flood h2o connected a roadworthy successful Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the steadfast has temporarily pulled its work connected freeways successful San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami, and said it was evaluating its cars' show successful operation zones.

In a connection fixed to Reuters, the institution said it expected to resume those routes soon.

Over the past year, respective incidents with driverless cars person raised concerns implicit their safety.