The federal government is demanding that autonomous-vehicle companies address their driverless cars’ pattern of impeding or ignoring first responders and emergency vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has documented incidents of autonomous vehicles driving into active emergency scenes and blocking the paths of ambulances and firefighters.
Autonomous vehicles have also failed to recognize traffic cones, flashing lights, and other safety threats such as smoke and fire, according to a Wednesday letter from NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison.
“An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public,” Morrison wrote. “Every second matters when law enforcement officers, firefighters, or paramedics are answering a call.”
In his letter, Morrison called on autonomous-vehicle developers to give priority to improving the cars’ ability to interact with first responders, and said the NHTSA will schedule meetings with each company by the end of the month to hear their solutions.