{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0598","record_version":1,"title":"Waymo recalls about 3,900 robotaxis over freeway construction zones","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":58.1,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":15.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":3.0,"completeness":6.08,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: CNBC · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":2,"reports_independent":1,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: CNBC · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"885f5f44bc454445b5590012ab805468c80c03f653930046ff88bb0741e7c769"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":"5th-generation automated driving system (ADS)","developer":"Waymo","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"production","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":"production","integration_type":null,"intended_use":"Commercial robotaxi service","safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-06-18","incident_class":"operational_error","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":true,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"Waymo's robotaxis, which run its fifth-generation automated driving system and were serving public riders on freeways in several US cities, entered freeway construction zones. Filings describe 13 known incidents: six in Phoenix in April and seven in San Francisco in May, in which vehicles drove into closed or active construction zones. Waymo temporarily restricted freeway operations while it investigated, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and filed a voluntary software recall with NHTSA covering almost 3,900 vehicles. The company says it is developing a remedy and has limited robotaxi availability on freeways in the meantime. The sources do not state that any collision occurred.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":"The vehicles may enter and drive at speed in freeway construction zones due to inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone.","failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":"provider","adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":"Freeway operations voluntarily restricted","remediation":"Software remedy under development; robotaxi availability on freeways limited in the meantime","precursor_events":null,"primary_risk":"RK18"},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"major","severity_because":"Test: regulator involved. Fact: the recall notices were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.","harm_class":[],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/18/waymo-nhtsa-voluntary-recall-robotaxis-entered-freeway-construction-zones.html","publisher":"CNBC","date":"2026-06-18","type":"press","title":"Waymo recalls about 3,900 robotaxis after some drove into 'freeway construction zones' - CNBC","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"independent"},{"url":"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/recall-alert/waymo-recalls-3900-robotaxis-drove-into-freeway-construction-zones/4101382/","publisher":"NBC Bay Area","date":"2026-06-18","type":"press","title":"Waymo recalls about 3,900 robotaxis after some drove into freeway construction zones - NBC Bay Area","archived_url":null}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.developer":"C","system.model_version":"C","system.deployment_context":"C","system.lifecycle_stage":"C","system.intended_use":"C","event.agent_involved":"C","event.root_cause_detail":"C","event.responsible_party":"C","event.remediation":"C","event.operations_paused":"C","context.country":"C","context.industry":"C","event.incident_class":"D","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.primary_risk":"D","event.summary":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."}],"system.model_version":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"The recall affects Waymo’s 5th-generation automated driving system (ADS), and NHTSA said all of the recalled vehicles are believed to have the defect."}],"system.deployment_context":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo had been serving public riders on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami."}],"system.lifecycle_stage":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo had been serving public riders on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami."}],"system.intended_use":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo now operates a commercial robotaxi service in 11 U.S. markets, and is available to select riders in a few cities."}],"event.agent_involved":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."}],"event.root_cause_detail":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"Under certain circumstances, the [autonomous vehicle] may enter and drive at speed in freeway construction zones due to inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone"}],"event.responsible_party":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."}],"event.remediation":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo said it's developing a \"remedy\" for the issue and, in the meantime, has limited robotaxi availability for use on freeways."}],"event.operations_paused":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA."}],"context.country":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."}],"context.industry":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo now operates a commercial robotaxi service in 11 U.S. markets, and is available to select riders in a few cities."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo is recalling almost 3,900 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues after some cars drove into freeway construction zones, according to notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"Waymo is recalling nearly 3,900 robotaxis to fix a software issue that caused some vehicles to enter active freeway construction zones and continue driving at speed, according to recall notices filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Six occurred in Phoenix in April, when Waymo vehicles drove into closed freeway construction zones."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Seven more incidents took place in San Francisco in May, where robotaxis entered freeway lanes with active construction, according to NHTSA’s report filed Thursday."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Waymo said it's developing a \"remedy\" for the issue and, in the meantime, has limited robotaxi availability for use on freeways."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"The sources do not state the incident year, the exact dates of the individual incidents, any collision, injury or loss amount, the number of affected third parties, the detection method, the vehicle model name, or the autonomy level. Waymo's remedy was still in development when reported, so no completed change or added control is stated and remediations is empty. No listed control is confirmed as failed or got around; F6 is recorded as held because Waymo reports notifying regulators. Judgements: incident_class set to operational_error and agent_involved set to true for the autonomous driving system; failure_class left out because no listed agent failure mode is stated; responsible_party set to provider because Waymo is the developer and operator; severity set to major because a regulator (NHTSA) is involved; date_disclosed uses the 2026-06-18 publication date of both sources; the 'when' values for the Phoenix and San Francisco incidents use the months as stated in the sources. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Preliminary (1 report: CNBC · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":"Autonomous ride-hailing (robotaxi)","org_size_band":null,"country":"US","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"doing","text":"The robotaxis were serving public riders on freeways in several US cities.","quote":"Waymo had been serving public riders on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"went_wrong","text":"Under certain circumstances, vehicles could enter and drive at speed in freeway construction zones.","quote":"Under certain circumstances, the [autonomous vehicle] may enter and drive at speed in freeway construction zones due to inappropriately prioritizing the avoidance of other freeway hazards and/or failing to recognize the construction zone","source_index":1,"grade":"C"},{"step":"caught","text":"The company reviewed the incidents and decided to initiate a recall.","quote":"Its Safety Board reviewed the incidents on June 1 and decided to initiate a recall on June 8.","source_index":1,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/18/waymo-nhtsa-voluntary-recall-robotaxis-entered-freeway-construction-zones.html","https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/recall-alert/waymo-recalls-3900-robotaxis-drove-into-freeway-construction-zones/4101382/"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"Six incidents: Waymo vehicles drove into closed freeway construction zones in Phoenix.","quote":"Six occurred in Phoenix in April, when Waymo vehicles drove into closed freeway construction zones.","source_index":1,"when":"April"},{"text":"Seven incidents: robotaxis entered freeway lanes with active construction in San Francisco.","quote":"Seven more incidents took place in San Francisco in May, where robotaxis entered freeway lanes with active construction, according to NHTSA’s report filed Thursday.","source_index":1,"when":"May"},{"text":"Waymo voluntarily restricted freeway operations and notified state and federal regulators.","quote":"We voluntarily restricted freeway operations last month while making improvements, proactively notified state and federal regulators, and decided to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA.","source_index":0,"when":"last month"},{"text":"Waymo's Safety Board reviewed the incidents.","quote":"Its Safety Board reviewed the incidents on June 1 and decided to initiate a recall on June 8.","source_index":1,"when":"June 1"},{"text":"Waymo's Safety Board decided to initiate a recall.","quote":"Its Safety Board reviewed the incidents on June 1 and decided to initiate a recall on June 8.","source_index":1,"when":"June 8"},{"text":"The recall filings were published with NHTSA.","quote":"The voluntary recall, the Alphabet-owned company's second in just over a month, followed 13 known incidents where Waymo robotaxis drove into construction zones on freeways in Phoenix, or entered freeway lanes with active construction in the San Francisco area, the filings published Thursday said.","source_index":0,"when":"Thursday"}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/18/waymo-nhtsa-voluntary-recall-robotaxis-entered-freeway-construction-zones.html","https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/recall-alert/waymo-recalls-3900-robotaxis-drove-into-freeway-construction-zones/4101382/"]}}