Waymo recalls nearly 4,000 robotaxis to stop them driving into highway construction zones

TechCrunch Desktop Logo TechCrunch Mobile Logo LatestStartupsVentureAppleSecurityAIAppsDisrupt 2026 EventsPodcastsNewsletters SearchSubmit Site Search Toggle Mega Menu Toggle Topics Latest AI Amazon Apps Biotech & Health Climate Cloud Computing Commerce Crypto Enterprise EVs Fintech Fundraising Gadgets Gaming Google Government & Policy Hardware Instagram Layoffs Media & Entertainment Meta Microsoft Privacy Robotics Security Social Space Startups TikTok Transportation Venture More from TechCrunch Staff Events Startup Battlefield StrictlyVC Newsletters Podcasts Videos Partner Content TechCrunch Brand Studio Crunchboard Contact Us Image Credits:David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Transportation Waymo recalls nearly 4,000 robotaxis to stop them driving into highway construction zones Sean O'Kane 4:59 AM PDT · June 18, 2026 Waymo has recalled its fleet of nearly 4,000 robotaxis to restrict them from driving on highways while it figures out how to make the vehicles behave around construction zones. The recall comes after Waymo identified at least 13 instances of its robotaxis driving into highway sections that were closed for construction. Six of these happened in Phoenix, Arizona, in April, and seven occurred in San Francisco, California, in May.

Waymo pulled its robotaxis from all highways on May 19, and a fix for the problem is “currently under development,” according to filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The company is not pulling vehicles off the road and is still operating on surface streets, though it has periodically paused service during severe weather that could lead to flooding. In May, the company recalled its robotaxis after they drove into flooded roads, and in December, it issued one to address its vehicles’ illegal behavior around school buses.

Waymo has previously issued recalls to fix low-speed collisions with chains and gates and telephone poles, and one to solve a problem regarding towed trucks. The company’s driving software is currently under investigation by the NHTSA and National Transportation Safety Board regarding its behavior around school buses after one of its robotaxis struck a child near a school in January. Alphabet-owned Waymo says its vehicles have driven more than 170 million miles autonomously and claims they have demonstrated a 13x reduction in serious-injury-or-worse crashes when compared to human drivers. var playerInstance_jwplayer_6a78933428b96 = jwplayer( "jwplayer_6a78933428b96" ); playerInstance_jwplayer_6a78933428b96.setup(); The robotaxi company is in the middle of a massive expansion, planning to launch in more than 20 cities this year alone, including in London and Tokyo.

The expansion has helped highlight a number of edge cases that Waymo’s robotaxi software has struggled with, which now includes highway construction zones. Waymo, which started offering highway rides in November 2025, told the NHTSA that its robotaxis “did not recognize and drove past ramp closure signs into pre-planned freeway construction zones” in mid-April in Phoenix. After a review, the company’s “Field Safety Committee” restricted freeway operations in the city while Waymo worked on a fix, the NHTSA documents show.

On May 18, seven Waymo robotaxis drove into highway lanes under active construction in the San Francisco Bay Area because the company’s software was “prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone.” The company suspended all freeway driving the following day. Waymo’s safety board decided to issue the recall on June 8. Footage of some of these incidents was shared on social media.

On May 19, X user @Elliot_slade posted a video where they claimed a Waymo “blasted through cones,” and said it was “chased” by police. Police in the distance and it sped up. That’s when I looked at my fiancée, we’re done.