The head of the top US road safety agency cautioned autonomous vehicle developers in a letter Wednesday about what he called an “unacceptable” pattern of driverless cars interfering with the work of law enforcement and other first responders.
“To state it bluntly: An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public,” Jonathan Morrison, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), wrote in a letter that he described as a “call to action” for technology developers.
Morrison wrote that NHTSA has documented a “clear pattern” of interference over the last few months, including incidents in which the vehicles drove into active emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and firefighters, and didn’t respond in situations involving flashing lights, fire, and traffic cones.
He directed developers to “immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue,” and said that the NHTSA would schedule meetings with each company by the end of July to hear about solutions.
Waymo declined to comment. In a written statement, a Zoox spokesperson said the company “takes first responder interactions seriously, and we support NHTSA’s push to hold the industry accountable,” and called responses to emergencies “a critical part of our technology development.”
WIRED self driving cars interfere with first responders: https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-are-interfering-with-first-responders-feds-arent-happy/