As Waymo prepares to open public robotaxi service in Denver later this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has warned autonomous vehicle developers that a pattern of vehicles interfering with emergency responders represents a “functional insufficiency” and “a danger to the general public.”
In a July 8 letter to driverless automated driving system developers, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison wrote that the agency had identified “a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement, fire and rescue personnel and other first responders.”
The letter said vehicles had driven into active emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and firefighters or failed to respond to flashing lights, traffic cones, smoke, fire and flares…