Waymo recalls software after self-driving taxis crash in December

Waymo has voluntarily recalled its driverless taxi technology after two of the company’s self-driving cars crashed into a pickup truck that was being towed in Phoenix, Ariz., in December. 

This is the company’s first recall. 

“This voluntary recall reflects how seriously we take our responsibility to safely deploy our technology and to transparently communicate with the public,” Waymo chief safety officer Mauricio Peña wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. 

The self-driving car firm said it developed, tested and validated a fix to the software utilized in its vehicles in December. The update was received in January.

The recall occurred because of the crashes in Phoenix, Ariz. on Dec. 11. A Waymo car colluded with the backward-facing pickup truck that was “improperly towed," according to Peña, who wrote about the incident in the blog post. He said the Waymo vehicle “incorrectly predicted the future motion” of the pickup truck. Waymo told The Hill in a statement on Wednesday the collision caused minor damage to the front left bumper. 

Peña said the tow truck didn’t stop. Then another Waymo car hit the same pickup truck that was being towed. After the collision, the tow truck stopped moving. This caused minor damage to the front left bumper and sensor, according to Waymo’s statement to The Hill on Wednesday. 

Waymo vehicles did not have passengers in them and the pickup truck had “minor damage.” 
The recall comes also after a vehicle from Cruise, another self-driving car company, ran over and dragged a woman last year. The incident caused the California Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend Cruise’s operations.

The recall by Waymo comes as self-driving cars are coming under heavy criticism as they raise safety concerns. A Waymo vehicle also struck a cyclist last week in San Francisco.