The top U.S. road safety official has issued a stark warning to autonomous vehicle developers over what he described as an "unacceptable" pattern of driverless cars obstructing law enforcement and first responders. In a letter sent Wednesday, Jonathan Morrison, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), called on companies to "immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue."
"To state it bluntly: An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public," Morrison wrote, according to a report from WIRED. The letter, which Morrison framed as a "call to action," documented a "clear pattern" of interference over recent months. Incidents included autonomous vehicles driving into active emergency scenes, blocking ambulances and fire trucks, and failing to respond appropriately to flashing lights, fire, and traffic cones.
Incidents in San Francisco and Austin
Officials from several city law enforcement and fire departments had already raised alarms in a closed-door meeting with NHTSA earlier this year. According to WIRED, a San Francisco official told the agency that Waymo's technology was "backsliding," and the city's fire chief reported that "Waymo is frequently now blocking our fire stations from access." One fire chief called the vehicles' behavior a "safety issue for our crews as well as the victims."
In Austin, a police department representative said that Waymo robotaxis "tend to freeze in difficult situations" and often fail to respond to officers' hand signals during emergencies. "I believe the technology was deployed too quickly in too vast amounts, with hundreds of vehicles, when it wasn't really ready," the Austin police official said, according to audio of the meeting obtained by WIRED.
Austin first responders also appeared before a City Council meeting this spring to describe how a Waymo robotaxi blocked an ambulance for two minutes while it was responding to a downtown mass shooting that killed three people and injured at least 14.
NHTSA's Enforcement and Regulatory Actions
Morrison's letter stated that NHTSA will "continue to exercise our enforcement authority for developers that do not address significant safety concerns." The agency has issued several recalls related to autonomous vehicle technology in recent years, including two involving Waymo's behavior on flooded roads and near construction zones, and another concerning Zoox robotaxis stopping in front of oncoming traffic. Both companies reported that these issues were resolved through software updates.
| Incident Type | Companies Involved | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Behavior on flooded roads | Waymo | Software update |
| Behavior near construction zones | Waymo | Software update |
| Stopping in front of oncoming traffic | Zoox | Software update |
A school district in Austin also worked with Waymo to train its vehicles to stop for school buses, though the fix did not immediately work.
NHTSA also touted the Trump administration's efforts to ease regulations for autonomous vehicles. Last month, the agency made it easier for companies to deploy purpose-built robotaxis—such as those from Tesla and Zoox—that lack steering wheels, driver-operated brakes, or rearview mirrors, because they do not meet traditional motor vehicle safety standards.
Industry Response and Next Steps
Neither Waymo nor Zoox responded to WIRED's request for comment. Morrison directed developers to schedule meetings with NHTSA by the end of July to present their solutions. The letter underscores growing federal scrutiny of autonomous vehicle safety, particularly as more driverless cars operate on public roads without human fallback.
For enterprise technology leaders, the episode highlights the critical importance of robust edge-case testing in AI-driven systems. Autonomous vehicles must reliably interpret unpredictable human behaviors, especially in high-stress emergency scenarios. Failures in these interactions not only endanger lives but also risk regulatory backlash that could delay broader deployment of automation in transportation and logistics.
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