Amazon’s Zoox recalls self-driving vehicles amid emergency response issues

The recall is the latest development in a series of reports of autonomous vehicles impeding emergency response efforts.The Amazon subsidiary company Zoox has said that it will ⁠recall its fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles in the United States.The technology company announced the recall on Friday due to mounting concerns that the vehicles may not detect heavy smoke and could impede emergency personnel.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US opens probe after a Waymo self-driving car hit a child near a schoollist 2 of 3Waymo runs into safety concerns and competition as it expands in the USlist 3 of 3Family sues Tesla for wrongful death in Autopilot crash in Texas, USend of listLast week, the top ⁠US car safety official said self-driving car companies must quickly address a “clear pattern” of driverless vehicles interfering with law enforcement and other first responders that had ⁠raised significant safety concerns.Zoox said on Friday that on June 20 an unoccupied Zoox autonomous vehicle encountered heavy smoke that obscured an active emergency fire scene.The Zoox vehicle entered the scene, then braked hard while attempting to steer away, before ‌coming to a stop. The Zoox vehicle, under teleguidance, reversed, after which first responders placed traffic cones at the scene, blocking two of the three lanes.Zoox said a new software update intends to enhance the existing capability of detecting and responding to heavy smoke.Jonathan Morrison, who heads the US vehicle regulatory agency, said in a letter to autonomous vehicle (AV) companies that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has documented multiple instances of ⁠robotaxis driving into active emergency scenes.The letter also mentioned other incidents ⁠when the vehicles “blocked the paths of ambulances and firefighters, or failed to recognize and respond to basic safety conditions like flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire, and traffic cones.”