Self-driving robotaxi company Waymo is temporarily pausing its vehicles from operating on U.S. freeways.

Waymo, the self-driving robotaxi company, is temporarily pausing its vehicles from operating on U.S. freeways, including in San Francisco and Los Angeles, to address safety concerns after reports emerged that the vehicles were operating unsafely. Within the last two months, the company received criticism after unoccupied cars were captured entering flooded roadways in San Antonio and Atlanta, as well as a vehicle reportedly speeding through a construction zone in San Francisco. Waymo acknowledged in a letter sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on May 11 that it was fixing its vehicles' software, which would sometimes allow the robotaxi to enter flooded roadways. The company informed the NHSA that it had implemented a temporary fix as Waymo worked on a "remedy" to the issue. "Waymo LLC (Waymo) is recalling certain 5th and 6th Generation Automated Driving Systems (ADS). The software may allow the vehicle to slow and then drive into standing water on higher speed roadways," reads the report. "As an interim remedy, Waymo modified the scope of vehicle operations to increase weather-related constraints and updated the vehicle maps." The software issue reportedly affects over 3,700 vehicles in the company's fleet, according to the report. It also paused its Waymo vehicles from offering services on U.S. freeways in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami areas. The company, which is owned by Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, confirmed to Reuters that it was temporarily pausing its fleet's ability to operate on freeways as it continues to work on the vehicle's software. "We are committed to being good neighbors for our riders and our communities," said a Waymo spokesperson in an email to USA TODAY. "As part of that commitment, we make proactive decisions, including temporarily pausing aspects of our service. We know riders count on us to get around, and we appreciate their patience as we work to get them where they’re going safely and reliably." It's unclear when Waymo will allow its vehicles to resume operating on freeways. California places new regulation on self-driving vehicles In addition to addressing safety concerns, Waymo, along with other companies operating self-driving vehicles in California, will soon be required to comply with new regulations governing autonomous vehicles. Notably, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced on April 29 that law enforcement agencies will now be allowed to issue tickets to autonomous vehicle companies for violations of the rules of the road. These changes are set to take effect on July 1 and stem from Assembly Bill 1777, authored by former California State Assemblyman Philip Ting. The law, passed in 2024, aimed to provide additional oversight of autonomous vehicles under California law and to address safety concerns related to malfunctions in major cities.

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