Amazon’s self-driving robotaxi unit is being investigated by the U.S. government’s highway safety agency after two of its vehicles braked suddenly and were rear-ended by motorcyclists.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents posted on its website Monday it will evaluate the automated driving system developed by Zoox.
Both crashes happened during daytime hours, and the motorcyclists suffered minor injuries. In both cases, the agency confirmed that the Amazon vehicles were operating in autonomous mode leading up to the crashes.
While braking suddenly is something that can happen on the roads, it’s still a potentially dangerous maneuver. It’s often better than the alternative (crashing into something/someone), but there’s still risk involved.
If these vehicles are doing panic stops frequently and unnecessarily, that’s a major problem. It’s a common type of insurance fraud, for starters.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the computer has a faster initial braking response whereas it takes time for peoples’ feet to fully depress the brake pedal. A shorter time from the brake lights coming on to the brakes being at full service pressure.