Waymo — Phoenix, USA
Location
Phoenix, USA — urban alley
Residential alley, Phoenix metropolitan area
Description
A Waymo autonomous vehicle collided with a wooden utility pole while navigating a narrow alley at low speed. No injuries were reported. The incident was caused by a software issue in the vehicle's perception and path planning system that failed to properly account for the pole's position in the constrained alley environment. Waymo issued a voluntary recall of 672 vehicles to address the software defect via an OTA update.
Impact
Vehicles
672
Injuries
0
Fatalities
0
Traffic disruption: minimal
Emergency Response
Resolution: vehicle retrieved by Waymo team; software recall issued
Root Cause
perception and path planning
Software failed to properly detect and maintain clearance from a stationary wooden utility pole in a narrow alley environment
✅ Confirmed
Systemic Issues
- Static object detection in constrained environments needs improvement
- Alley and narrow passage navigation is an edge case for urban robotaxis
Regulatory Action
NHTSA recall. Waymo issued voluntary recall of 672 vehicles and deployed OTA software update to improve static object avoidance in constrained spaces.