Zoox Robotaxis Face Recall Over Lane Crossing

Zoox, an Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company, has initiated a voluntary recall impacting 332 of its self-driving cars. The recall addresses a software flaw where vehicles exhibited tendencies to cross the center lane line near intersections or obstruct pedestrian crosswalks. While Zoox asserts that no collisions have resulted from this issue, it has been identified as a factor that could elevate the risk of an accident. The company, which offers free rides in driverless vehicles in San Francisco and Las Vegas, detected 62 instances of lane crossings between August 26 and December 5, following an initial detection on August 26.

According to a Zoox spokesperson, the identified maneuvers, though sometimes seen with human drivers, did not meet the company's safety standards. Examples include a robotaxi stopping in a crosswalk to avoid blocking an intersection at a red light or making wide turns that encroached into oncoming lanes. Zoox has been in ongoing discussions with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding the occurrences.

The company has since implemented comprehensive software updates, with the first deployed on November 7 and a subsequent update in mid-December, to resolve the identified root causes. This recall is part of Zoox's commitment to transparency and continuous improvement in its autonomous driving technology. Earlier in the year, Zoox also issued recalls for issues related to unexpected hard braking and the system's predictive capabilities for other road users.