NHTSA Demands Autonomous Vehicles Fix Emergency Responder Interference by Month's End

NHTSA Warns Autonomous Vehicle Companies Over 'Clear Pattern' of First Responder Interference - Tesla (NA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator, Jonathan Morrison, on Wednesday criticized autonomous vehicles, as well as the companies operating them, following instances of AVs interfering with law enforcement, as well as firefighters' and paramedics' operations. Morrison Demands Fix By the End of July Morrison, in a letter, said the agency wants companies to deliver fixes by the end of the month, saying that the agency had identified a "clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders." The problem was a safety shortfall, Morrison said, adding that the agency had received reports of robotaxis entering live incident areas, blocking the paths of ambulances or firefighters, among other problems. Tesla, Waymo, Zoox, NHTSA and Uber did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment. In the letter, Morrison said that "an AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public," adding that NHTSA expected the autonomous driving companies to "prioritize first responder interactions" with AVs. The NHTSA administrator said that the agency would schedule "meetings with driverless automated driving system developers by month's end" to discuss possible solutions. Notably, the letter did not mention or single out any particular company/operator. Waymo Issues Recall Tesla Under Scrutiny The agency had earlier announced it was already probing over 3.2 million vehicles over the Full Self-driving (FSD) tech. The probe recently moved its investigation to Engineering Analysis, a stage that usually precedes a recall, according to the law. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor. Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Waymo, Tesla must fix a dangerous issue with their robotaxis, NHTSA says

The future of U.S. roadways will feature a lot more automated vehicles, so the country must work out the kinks now before the AV population starts really increasing. One of the biggest issues already poking its head through is the multiple instances of automated vehicles driving through or otherwise ignoring emergency response situations where the police or first responders are involved. The tragic mass shooting in Austin, Texas, earlier this year is a prime example of this. Police and first responders raced to and from the scene where two people were killed and 14 were injured, but one emergency vehicle was filmed being severely delayed by an obstruction in the road that refused to move: a malfunctioning Waymo. Eventually, a police officer opened the vehicle and moved it, but by the time he did, the ambulance's human driver had already navigated around the malfunctioning Waymo. "As our protocols are designed and we've trained first responders to do, a police officer disengaged the vehicle, and our roadside assistance team retrieved it," Waymo said in a statement to 11Alive at the time. That wasn't the first time Waymo vehicles have failed to navigate emergency situations properly. In February, a driverless Waymo vehicle with a passenger in the back drove into the middle of an active police scene before stopping in Atlanta, Georgia. A local television news station that had been covering Waymo's failure to stop at school buses with their stop signs deployed just happened to be on the scene, filming the police standoff with an armed suspect, who had fired at law enforcement, grazing one in the head. Now the NHTSA is saying that not only Waymo, but other robotaxi operators like Tesla and other automated vehicle makers need to tighten up their protocols. NHTSA issues call to action over AVs interfering in emergency situations This week, in a letter dated July 8, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a call to action for all AV makers to fix the glitch causing their vehicles to ignore emergency situations. While admitting that it believes in the "immense potential" of AV technology to "reduce human error and improve safety" on the nation's roads. Still, the regulatory bodies tasked with safeguarding the country's streets have "documented multiple instances in which AVs drove directly 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." The letter called the AVs' inability to navigate those situations a "functional insufficiency" that the agency expects to see progress on soon. The NHTSA says it will schedule meetings with AV system developers "by month's end" to hear about how they plan to fix this problem. "Let me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency," NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said. "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. Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Heather Diehl / Getty Images U.S. Senators question Tesla FSD safety data Last month, Reuters reported that Tesla was exaggerating its safety claims for FSD and that it is using a team of "data labelers" to help the AI that powers FSD be better. This revelation suggests that Elon Musk's declaration that FSD is already up to 10 times safer than human drivers and ready for more widespread adoption is hollow. So Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Administration saying the Reuters report exposes "dangerous gaps" in its autonomous vehicle data collection. "Tesla has repeatedly told investors, consumers, and the public that FSD is far safer than human driving, but the data analysis justifying those claims is weak and misleading. These representations are not merely marketing claims; they may shape how drivers use Tesla's FSD, how the public understands the risks of the technology, and how regulators evaluate potential safety defects," the letter stated. According to the letter, Tesla's data to come up with the "10 times safer" is flawed for several reasons, including: * Comparing unlike crash outcomes that made Tesla look better. * Comparing newer Tesla vehicles to the entire U.S. vehicle fleet. * Counting FSD involved crashes only if it is active at the time of crash or within five seconds. The NHTSA uses a 30-second time threshold for all ADAS systems. * Relying on incomplete automated telemetry. Tesla is cooking the books, according to the Senators and the NHTSA has not been able to get the real data it needs, which makes the whole situation more dangerous for drivers. "The push to allow more autonomous vehicles on public roads depends heavily on the claim that these driving systems are safer than human drivers," the letter stated. "To the extent that Tesla or other vehicle manufacturers are misleading the public about their safety data, however, consumers may choose to purchase or ride in an AV based on the unproven expectation that they are safer than non-autonomous vehicles. This type of information asymmetry is a classic market failure, which will likely result in more AVs on the road - and potentially more traffic injuries and fatalities if those systems are not in fact as safe as they claimed." Currently, the NHTSA does not require vehicle manufacturers to submit data on the number of vehicles they operate, the distances they travel, and other data that could help contextualize crash rates. They say that is the type of data that "would help prove or disprove Tesla's safety claims." So the Senators are asking the agency to "significantly expand autonomous vehicle data reporting requirements." The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 3:33 PM.

NHTSA says driverless cars must fix emergency scene issues By Investing.com

Investing.com -- The head of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday told self-driving car companies they must quickly fix a "clear pattern" of driverless vehicles interfering with law enforcement and other first responders. Jonathan Morrison, who leads the U.S. vehicle regulatory agency, wrote to the industry that NHTSA has documented multiple instances of autonomous vehicles driving "directly 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." NHTSA said the situation was unacceptable and stated it would schedule meetings with vehicle developers by the end of this month to hear their solutions. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.