U.S. Regulator Opens Probe Into Avride Self-Driving Crashes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Avride, a robotaxi company partnered with Uber, after identifying 16 crashes and one minor injury. The agency's Office of Defects Investigation said all of the crashes involve the competence of Avride's self-driving system, which has apparently struggled with changing lanes, responding to other vehicles in the same lane, and reacting to stationary objects. All incidents occurred while a safety monitor was in the driver's seat. Avride, a subsidiary of Nebius, said it reported the crashes to NHTSA as required and has implemented technical and operational mitigations. The company said its total operations have continued to grow while the frequency of incidents relative to mileage has steadily declined. Uber started offering rides in Avride robotaxis in Dallas a few months ago, and many of the reported crashes occurred there. Some also happened in Austin, Texas. At least one crash involved a robotaxi carrying a passenger. The crash that caused a minor injury happened in December 2025 in Dallas, when an Avride-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5 clipped the open door of a parked pickup truck. Another December crash in Dallas involved an Avride vehicle that turned into a van while attempting to change lanes to avoid a parked truck. Multiple crashes involved other vehicles turning into the robotaxis, and at least one crash involved an Avride vehicle hitting a dumpster. The investigation comes amid expanded testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles across the United States. Waymo is also under investigation by NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board for incidents involving school buses and a January crash in which a robotaxi struck a child.