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Self-driving car company plans to operate in Austin even though it's under a federal investigation

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary investigation into Waymo on May 13.

AUSTIN, Texas — A self-driving car company that tested in Austin is under federal investigation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary investigation into Waymo on May 13, over reports that the company's cars caused traffic problems, including crashes, in a number of cities.

None of the incident reports cited by the NHTSA happened in Austin, but 17 of the incidents involved crashes or fires in other parts of the U.S. There have been no reported injuries as a result of these incidents, according to the NHTSA's notice.

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The NHTSA is only investigating the fifth generation of cars made by Waymo, focusing its inspection on the cars' automated driving system and its ability to detect and respond to traffic control devices.

KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman report that Waymo – which is owned by Alphabet, Inc., Google's parent company – first began testing its self-driving cars in Austin in 2015. The name Waymo was officially adopted by Google the following year.

In 2019, Waymo closed its Central Texas operations to focus on projects in Detroit and Phoenix. Then, in August 2023, the company announced it would be expanding its fleet to Austin.

In March of this year, Waymo began testing its fifth-generation driverless cars in Austin – a choice that is concerning to some city leaders, like District 9 Councilmember Zohaib "Zo" Qadri.

"Private companies using our public roads to beta test their products is very risky behavior - we can't let them use Austin as a testing ground for tech that isn't ready for prime time," Qadri said in a statement.

Self-driving cars have inspired controversy for some time now. According to a study from AAA Texas, 68% of drivers are afraid of self-driving vehicles. That's a 13% increase from last year and the biggest increase since 2020.

"People just are still hesitant about getting into a fully autonomous vehicle, and there's no real surprise in that, given the high profile number of crashes on the overreliance of current vehicle technologies," Doug Shupe, a spokesperson for AAA Texas, said.

Shupe said the study found that people are generally not concerned about partially automated vehicles, with features like automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning and adaptive cruise control. He said the fear comes when a vehicle is fully automated.

"It's like any kind of new technology," Shupe said. "There's going to be some fear or some trepidation about using this new technology until consumers have a better understanding of how it works."

Shupe said with this new tech entering cities, the most important safety tool is going to be a driver who is alert and aware of their surroundings.

"There's no substitution for an active, engaged driver," Shupe said.

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Waymo announced it would be offering ride-hailing services through its Waymo One app later this year. The company has not announced a specific date yet, but people who want to be the first to try it out can join their waitlist on the app. 

Below is the full statement Waymo sent KVUE about the federal investigation:

“At Waymo we currently serve over 50 thousand weekly trips for our riders in some of the most challenging and complex environments. We are proud of our performance and safety record over tens of millions of autonomous miles driven, as well as our demonstrated commitment to safety transparency. NHTSA plays a very important role in road safety and we will continue to work with them as part of our mission to become the world’s most trusted driver.”

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