NHTSA Directs Autonomous Vehicle Developers to Prevent Interference With First Responders

TechCrunch Mobility reported that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a directive to autonomous vehicle developers stating it is unacceptable for their vehicles to interfere with first responders or law enforcement. Morrison said the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency and that emergency scenes are not rare or extreme edge cases. NHTSA is issuing a call to action for AV developers and operators to immediately focus resources on fixing the issue and demanded companies present solutions by the end of the month. The letter was sent to every AV developer listed in the Department of Transportation's Standing General Order. A previous TechCrunch investigation found that Waymo, which operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the United States, has had repeated run-ins with first responders. San Francisco supervisor Bilal Mahmood said he plans to submit a letter of inquiry to examine how autonomous vehicles affected public transit services and emergency responders following a July 4 fireworks show that resulted in massive gridlock. Local news outlets reported numerous Waymo robotaxis had to be towed after running out of power during the traffic jam. The report also noted the end of the Uber-Waymo partnership in Phoenix while partnerships in Atlanta and Austin remain.