PHOENIX — Waymo, the autonomous car company that's been operating in the Valley for years, announced this week that it had to recall and update its software after a "rare" incident occurred on Phoenix's roads.
In December 2023, a Waymo vehicle made contact with a pickup truck being towed in Phoenix. A few minutes later, another Waymo car hit the same pickup truck. Neither of the Waymo cars were transporting passengers at the time.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Waymo retira software después de un incidente 'raro' en Phoenix
The company said no injuries were reported during the "unusual scenario" and only minor car damage was observed.
The "rare issue" was caused by the Waymo car incorrectly predicting the future motion of the towed vehicle due to a "persistent orientation mismatch" with the pickup truck and tow truck, the company wrote in a statement.
Waymo claims the pickup truck was being "improperly towed."
As a result, Waymo filed a recall notice and updated the software of its entire fleet to address the issue.
"This voluntary recall reflects how seriously we take our responsibility to safely deploy our technology and to transparently communicate with the public," the company wrote in a statement.
Waymo's self-driving cars started getting tested in Chandler a few years ago before the company introduced the autonomous vehicles to other regions of the Valley.
Some local residents were not initially very welcoming to the high-tech vehicles when they first arrived in the East Valley. Police reported arresting a 69-year-old man in 2018 for a pointing a gun at a Waymo car driving through Chandler, according to the Arizona Republic.
In 2021, a Waymo passenger posted a video online showing the autonomous car getting confused and holding up traffic on a Chandler street.
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