Self-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders. Feds Aren’t Happy
Aarian MarshallGearJul 9, 2026 6:15 AMSelf-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders. Neither Waymo nor Zoox responded to WIRED’s request for comment.Officials with several city law enforcement and emergency departments told NHTSA representatives in a closed-door meeting earlier this year that Waymo robotaxis were impeding some emergency responses, WIRED reported in April. One fire chief called the vehicles’ behavior in those situations a “safety issue for our crews as well as the victims."Got a Tip?Do you work with or around autonomous vehicles?
- ▪Aarian MarshallGearJul 9, 2026 6:15 AMSelf-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders.
- ▪Neither Waymo nor Zoox responded to WIRED’s request for comment.Officials with several city law enforcement and emergency departments told NHTSA representatives in a closed-door meeting earlier this year that Waymo robotaxis were impeding s
- ▪One fire chief called the vehicles’ behavior in those situations a “safety issue for our crews as well as the victims."Got a Tip?Do you work with or around autonomous vehicles?
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Aarian MarshallGearJul 9, 2026 6:15 AMSelf-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders. Feds Aren’t HappyNHTSA administrator Jonathan Morris called reports that self-driving cars had driven into emergency scenes and blocked ambulances and firefighters “unacceptable.”Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyThe head of the top US road safety agency cautioned autonomous vehicle developers in a letter Wednesday about what he called an “unacceptable” pattern of driverless cars interfering with the work of law enforcement and other first responders.“To state it bluntly: An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public,” Jonathan Morrison, the administrator of the National…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at WIRED.
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