Waymo has recalled software previously used in its autonomous vehicle fleet after two cars crashed into the same pickup truck.

The company said that in December, a Waymo robotaxi driving in Phoenix, United States hit a backwards facing pickup truck being “improperly towed” ahead of the car so that the truck was persistently angled across a centre turn lane and a traffic lane.

Following contact, the tow truck and towed pickup truck did not pull over or stop traveling, and a few minutes later another Waymo vehicle hit the same pickup truck while it was being towed in the same manner.

Waymo has determined that due to the persistent orientation mismatch of the towed pickup truck and tow truck combination, the Waymo AV incorrectly predicted the future motion of the towed vehicle.

Neither Waymo vehicle was transporting riders at the time, with the incident resulting in “no injuries and minor vehicle damage”.

Waymo said that its entire fleet was updated with software to address this “rare issue” between December 20, 2023 and January 12, 2024.

Waymo assured customers that its ride-hailing service has not been interrupted by the update.

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