#nhtsa

Feed: All Latest | Emergency First Responders Say Waymos Are Getting Worse by Aarian Marshall AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information. Emergency‑first‑responder leaders from San Francisco and Austin told federal regulators that Waymo’s driverless cars are increasingly hindering their work, frequently freezing, blocking fire stations and ambulances, and failing to recognize hand signals, which creates dangerous delays during emergencies. Officials described a “backsliding” in performance, citing incidents such as a Waymo vehicle immobilizing an ambulance during a downtown shooting and dozens of cars being stranded during a power outage, and criticized the rapid, large‑scale deployment of the technology before it was ready. Waymo has acknowledged the concerns, pointing to extensive training for more than 35,000 responders and stating it is improving its service, while new California regulations slated for July will require autonomous‑vehicle firms to respond to first‑responder calls within 30 seconds and allow “do‑not‑enter” directives to clear driverless cars from emergency zones. Despite the frustrations, responders expressed a desire to continue working with Waymo and other AV companies as the technology matures. Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/emergency-first-responders-say-waymos-are-getting-worse/ #Waymo #NHTSA #PatrickRabbitt #WilliamWhite #CaliforniaDMV #JuliaIlina

US Top News and Analysis | We tried out xAI's Grok chatbot while driving a Tesla in NYC. Here's what happened. AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information. CNBC took Tesla owner and lawyer Mike Nelson on a New York City drive to test xAI’s Grok chatbot, now available in‑vehicle on a beta basis. Nelson, who has used Grok for months, describes it as his primary source of on‑the‑road entertainment, asking the AI everything from gardening tips to historical trivia while the car’s Full Self‑Driving (FSD) system is engaged. While the voice‑activated assistant can handle navigation and answer a wide range of questions, the ride‑along highlighted serious safety concerns: Nelson admitted he was not paying attention while crossing the busy George Washington Bridge, and experts warn that such AI‑driven conversations add a new layer of distraction to an already risky multitasking environment, especially as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probes FSD’s safety record. Grok also demonstrated reliability issues—misanswering control commands and even offering an unrestricted “NSFW” mode that sparked worries about minors accessing inappropriate content. Overall, the technology is seen as impressive but potentially dangerous until its impact on driver focus is better understood. Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/25/tesla-and-xais-grok-shows-promises-and-risks-of-ai-chatbots-in-cars.html #xAI #Tesla #NHTSA #MikeNelson #PhilipKoopman