Waymo Recalls Robotaxis Over Risk They’ll Drive at Speed Into Freeway Construction Zones

Waymo 召回自动驾驶出租车：因其存在高速驶入高速公路施工区域的风险

Waymo has filed its fourth safety recall since February 2024, after its driverless cars were caught entering closed freeway-construction zones. 自 2024 年 2 月以来，Waymo 已提交了第四次安全召回申请，此前其无人驾驶汽车被发现擅自进入已封闭的高速公路施工区域。

The recall, filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on June 17, appears to affect Waymo’s entire US fleet, covering 3,871 vehicles running Waymo’s 5th Generation automated driving system (ADS). 此次召回于 6 月 17 日提交给美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA），似乎影响了 Waymo 在美国的整个车队，涵盖了 3,871 辆运行 Waymo 第五代自动驾驶系统（ADS）的车辆。

NHTSA estimates 100 percent of the affected units carry the defect, which is outlined in the filed safety recall report as “under certain circumstances, the AV may enter and drive at speed in freeway-construction zones due to inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone.” NHTSA 估计，受影响的车辆 100% 存在该缺陷。安全召回报告中指出：“在特定情况下，自动驾驶汽车可能会因不恰当地优先规避其他高速公路危险，和/或未能识别施工区域，从而进入高速公路施工区并高速行驶。”

Waymo started offering highway rides in late 2025, and the underlying problem appears to be a failure of priority logic. According to the NHTSA filing, the ADS sometimes failed to recognize construction zones, and in other cases actively chose to drive through them because it was busy avoiding other hazards on the freeway. Both conditions can produce the same outcome: a driverless car at highway speed moving through a closed work zone. Waymo 于 2025 年底开始提供高速公路乘车服务，而根本问题似乎在于优先级逻辑的失效。根据 NHTSA 的文件，自动驾驶系统有时无法识别施工区域，而在其他情况下，由于忙于规避高速公路上的其他危险，它会主动选择穿过施工区。这两种情况都可能导致相同的结果：一辆以高速行驶的无人驾驶汽车穿过了封闭的施工区域。

The events that triggered the recall apparently began earlier this year. On April 11 and 19, Waymo vehicles in Phoenix drove past ramp closure signs into preplanned construction zones. Waymo’s Field Safety Committee responded by restricting freeway operations. 引发此次召回的事件显然始于今年早些时候。4 月 11 日和 19 日，Waymo 在凤凰城的车辆驶过了匝道封闭标志，进入了预先规划的施工区域。Waymo 的现场安全委员会随后采取了限制高速公路运营的措施。

Then, on May 18, seven Waymo vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area drove between construction cones into active lane closures. Though no collisions or injuries were reported from these events, it was this second cluster that prompted a broader freeway ban by the company. Waymo’s Safety Board reviewed the issue on June 1, and on June 8 decided to issue a formal recall. 随后，5 月 18 日，旧金山湾区的七辆 Waymo 车辆穿过施工锥桶，进入了正在施工的封闭车道。尽管这些事件没有造成碰撞或人员伤亡，但正是这第二批事件促使该公司实施了更广泛的高速公路禁令。Waymo 安全委员会于 6 月 1 日审查了该问题，并于 6 月 8 日决定发布正式召回。

“Waymo’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted driver, and the data shows that we’re making roads safer in the communities in which we operate,” said a Waymo statement emailed to WIRED. “We identified an area of improvement regarding performance around freeway construction zones. We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA.” “Waymo 的使命是成为全球最值得信赖的驾驶员，数据表明我们正在让我们运营的社区道路变得更加安全，”Waymo 在发给《连线》（WIRED）杂志的声明中表示。“我们确定了在高速公路施工区域周边性能方面需要改进的地方。我们上个月主动限制了高速公路运营并进行改进，主动通知了州和联邦监管机构，并决定向 NHTSA 提交自愿性软件召回申请。”

Crucially, a software fix for this potentially dangerous fault does not yet exist. Indeed, the NHTSA filing notes that a permanent remedy is “currently under development.” 至关重要的是，针对这一潜在危险故障的软件修复程序目前尚不存在。事实上，NHTSA 的文件指出，永久性的补救措施“目前正在开发中”。

Waymo’s interim response is to restrict all its vehicles from entering freeways entirely, a significant operational restriction for a company that previously offered freeway rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami. Waymo 的临时应对措施是完全禁止其所有车辆进入高速公路，对于一家此前在旧金山、洛杉矶、凤凰城和迈阿密提供高速公路乘车服务的公司来说，这是一项重大的运营限制。

However, because Waymo owns every vehicle in its fleet, there are no owners to notify. The fix, when it is programmed, will be pushed out as an over-the-air ADS software update. 然而，由于 Waymo 拥有其车队中的每一辆车，因此无需通知车主。一旦修复程序编写完成，将通过无线（OTA）自动驾驶系统软件更新进行推送。

This is the fourth time in roughly 28 months that Waymo has had to issue a safety recall. In May 2025, Waymo recalled 1,212 robotaxis over collisions with stationary roadway barriers following a NHTSA preliminary evaluation citing at least seven incidents between December 2022 and April 2024. In May this year, Waymo recalled 3,791 vehicles after a robotaxi drove into a flooded, impassable road in San Antonio and was swept into a creek. 这是 Waymo 在约 28 个月内第四次发布安全召回。2025 年 5 月，在 NHTSA 进行初步评估并指出 2022 年 12 月至 2024 年 4 月间至少发生七起事故后，Waymo 召回了 1,212 辆因与固定道路障碍物发生碰撞的自动驾驶出租车。今年 5 月，在圣安东尼奥一辆自动驾驶出租车驶入被洪水淹没、无法通行的道路并被冲入小溪后，Waymo 召回了 3,791 辆汽车。

This latest recall does not affect Waymo’s newest 6th Generation vehicles, apparently, and the company’s cars will continue to operate service on surface streets in the US. 此次最新召回似乎不影响 Waymo 最新的第六代车辆，该公司的汽车将继续在美国的地面道路上提供服务。