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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| Original publisher | WIRED |
| Canonical URL | https://www.wired.com/story/self-driving-cars-are-interfering-with-first-responders-feds-arent-happy/ |
| Publication time | Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:15:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-09T10:44:33.252Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-09T10:44:34.981Z |
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Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
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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…
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