Description: Between April 11 and May 18, 2026, 13 Waymo robotaxis reportedly entered closed or active freeway construction zones in Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area after failing to recognize construction-zone closure controls. The vehicles allegedly continued into work areas at freeway speeds, creating collision risks for construction workers and other road users. Waymo reportedly restricted freeway operations and later recalled 3,871 affected automated driving systems.
Editor Notes: Timeline notes: This record groups 13 related construction-zone events documented in Waymo's 06/17/2026 NHTSA recall filing. The incident date reflects the earliest event, on 04/11/2026; the AIID record was created on 06/19/2026. See also: (1) https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26E035-7637.pdf and (2) https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCAK-26E035-6843.pdf.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Waymo and Automated driving system developers developed an AI system deployed by Waymo , Automated driving system deployers and Robotaxi operators, which harmed Construction workers , Road users and Waymo passengers.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Waymo Driver , 5th-generation Waymo Driver and Automated driving systems
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1547
Report Count
2
Incident Date
2026-04-11
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab self-driving unit Waymo is recalling nearly 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. because a software issue could cause the vehicles to enter a closed freeway construction zone and con…
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Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The voluntary recall, th…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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