Feds demand autonomous vehicle companies stop interfering with first responders
Feds demand autonomous vehicle companies stop interfering with first responders
美国联邦政府要求自动驾驶汽车公司停止干扰急救人员
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a directive Wednesday to autonomous vehicle (AV) developers, stating that it is unacceptable for their vehicles to interfere with first responders or law enforcement. 美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）局长乔纳森·莫里森（Jonathan Morrison）周三向自动驾驶汽车（AV）开发商发布了一项指令，明确表示其车辆干扰急救人员或执法人员的行为是不可接受的。
Morrison noted in the letter that the agency has “identified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders,” citing instances in which these vehicles drove into active emergency scenes, blocked the paths of ambulances and firefighters, or failed to recognize and respond to basic safety conditions like flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and traffic cones. 莫里森在信中指出，该机构已经“发现无人驾驶自动驾驶汽车干扰执法人员和其他急救人员的明显模式”。他列举了一些实例，包括这些车辆驶入正在处理的紧急现场、阻挡救护车和消防车的通行路径，或者未能识别并响应基本的安全状况，如警示灯、信号弹、烟雾、火灾和交通锥等。
The agency has demanded that AV developers present their “solutions” to this problem by the end of the month. “Let me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency,” Morrison’s letter reads. “Emergency scenes are not rare or extreme ‘edge cases.’ As such, NHTSA is today issuing a call to action for AV developers and operators to immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue.” 该机构要求自动驾驶开发商在本月底前提出针对此问题的“解决方案”。莫里森在信中写道：“我必须明确一点：无法检测并适当应对此类情况代表了功能上的不足。紧急现场并非罕见或极端的‘边缘案例’。因此，NHTSA 今日向自动驾驶开发商和运营商发出行动呼吁，要求他们立即集中资源解决这一问题。”
The agency doesn’t explicitly call out any particular company in the letter; however, the details suggest it is directed at robotaxi operators like Waymo. TechCrunch has reached out to Waymo for comment and will update the article once the company responds. 该机构在信中并未明确点名任何特定公司；然而，细节表明其矛头指向了像 Waymo 这样的自动驾驶出租车运营商。TechCrunch 已联系 Waymo 请求置评，并将在该公司回应后更新本文。
A previous TechCrunch investigation found that Waymo — which operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the United States, with vehicles in cities including Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco — has had repeated run-ins with first responders. In at least six incidents identified by TechCrunch through March of this year, first responders had to take control of Waymo vehicles and move them out of traffic during emergency situations. TechCrunch 此前的一项调查发现，运营着美国最大自动驾驶出租车车队（车辆覆盖洛杉矶、凤凰城和旧金山等城市）的 Waymo，曾多次与急救人员发生冲突。据 TechCrunch 统计，截至今年 3 月，至少发生了六起急救人员不得不在紧急情况下接管 Waymo 车辆并将其移出交通流的事件。
In one instance, an officer was in the middle of responding to a mass shooting. In June, an officer was recorded moving a Waymo to unblock a roadway for first responders headed to a natural gas explosion at an apartment building. 其中一起事件中，一名警官当时正在处理一起大规模枪击案。今年 6 月，还有记录显示一名警官为了给前往公寓楼天然气爆炸现场的急救人员让路，不得不移动了一辆 Waymo 汽车。
The agency’s letter to AV developers doesn’t say what the consequences would be if the request is ignored. Nor does it outline what the acceptable solutions would be. But the agency does imply it would hold companies accountable, just as it does human drivers who impede law enforcement. 该机构致自动驾驶开发商的信中并未说明如果请求被忽视将会有什么后果，也没有概述什么是可接受的解决方案。但该机构暗示，它将像追究阻碍执法的驾驶员责任一样，追究这些公司的责任。
“Every second matters when law enforcement officers, firefighters, or paramedics are answering a call because lives are on the line,” the letter states. “That is why human drivers who impede these operations are subject to fines and even jail time.” 信中写道：“当执法人员、消防员或医护人员响应呼叫时，每一秒都至关重要，因为这关乎生命。这就是为什么阻碍这些行动的人类驾驶员会面临罚款甚至监禁的原因。”
The agency also noted in a press release accompanying the letter that it’s making progress on updating Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) requirements, which govern vehicle design and equipment requirements. These proposed changes could help autonomous vehicle companies like Tesla and Zoox, which are developing vehicles without steering wheels, pedals, or other features required on human-driven cars. 该机构在随信发布的新闻稿中还指出，其在更新联邦机动车安全标准（FMVSS）要求方面取得了进展，该标准规范了车辆设计和设备要求。这些拟议的变更可能会帮助像特斯拉（Tesla）和 Zoox 这样的自动驾驶汽车公司，它们正在开发没有方向盘、踏板或人类驾驶汽车所需其他功能的车辆。
The agency has already proposed rules that would eliminate the need for windshield wipers, sun visors, defogging systems, and tire placards. The agency released a new 2026 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda last week, outlining its proposals. 该机构此前已提出规则，拟取消对挡风玻璃雨刷、遮阳板、除雾系统和轮胎标牌的要求。该机构上周发布了新的《2026 年监管计划和统一议程》，概述了其提案。