The head of the top US road safety agency has issued a blistering warning to autonomous vehicle developers, calling the growing pattern of driverless cars interfering with emergency responders "unacceptable" and a **"danger to the general public."**

Jonathan Morrison, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), sent a letter Wednesday to AV developers describing it as a "call to action." NHTSA has documented a clear pattern of interference over recent months, including:

- Self-driving cars driving into active emergency scenes - Robotaxis blocking ambulances and fire trucks - Vehicles failing to respond to flashing lights, fire, and traffic cones

"To state it bluntly: An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public," Morrison wrote. He directed developers to "immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue" and said NHTSA would schedule meetings with each company by the end of July to hear about solutions.

A Pattern of Failures

WIRED reported in April that officials from multiple city law enforcement and emergency departments had detailed Waymo robotaxis impeding emergency responses in a closed-door meeting with NHTSA. One fire chief called the behavior a "safety issue for our crews as well as the victims."

A San Francisco official told the agency the company's tech was "backsliding," and the city's fire chief said, "Waymo is frequently now blocking our fire stations from access." A representative from Austin's police department said Waymos tend to freeze in difficult situations and often fail to respond to officers' hand signals in emergencies.

In a particularly stark incident, an Austin City Council meeting this spring heard how a Waymo robotaxi blocked an ambulance for two minutes as it tried to respond to a downtown mass shooting that killed three people and injured at least 14.

Industry Response

Waymo declined to comment on the letter. Zoox, Amazon's autonomous vehicle subsidiary, said in a statement that it "takes first responder interactions seriously, and we support NHTSA's push to hold the industry accountable," calling emergency response "a critical part of our technology development."

NHTSA has issued several recalls related to AV technology in recent years, including two for Waymo's behavior on flooded roads and near construction zones, and another for Zoox robotaxis stopping in front of oncoming traffic. Both companies reported those issues were resolved through software updates.

The crackdown comes as the Trump administration simultaneously eases regulations to allow more autonomous vehicles without steering wheels or driver-operated brakes on public roads — a boon for purpose-built robotaxi developers like Tesla and Zoox.

Sources