Waymo is suspending highway traffic control operations across the US due to safety concerns
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Waymo is temporarily suspending highway operations of its robotics service in several US markets as the company works to resolve operational issues at construction sites, FOX Business has learned.
Alphabet’s subsidiary confirmed on Thursday that it was suspending highway operations while it updated its software.
“Safety is Waymo’s top priority, for our passengers and everyone else we travel with on the road,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement sent to FOX Business. “We have temporarily suspended highway operations, as we work to integrate the latest technology into our software and expect to resume these routes soon.”
Waymo said the temporary suspension affects freeway driving only and that road operations are still in effect.
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A Waymo car drives through traffic on Dec. 27, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company said its vehicles travel through construction sites more than 10,000 times a day and are using the breaks to improve the operation of traffic lights on highways.
The announcement comes after Waymo temporarily suspended operations in Atlanta following flooding, while working separately to improve operations in construction sites and flooded roads.
That break followed reports of Waymo vehicles experiencing flooding in Atlanta on Wednesday; The AJC reported that one vehicle was in need of recovery, while Waymo said several others were temporarily on the road.
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A Waymo autonomous taxi on Bush Street in San Francisco, California, US, on Dec. 17, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The move also comes after Waymo filed a recall for 3,791 vehicles equipped with fifth- and sixth-generation Automated Driving Systems over a flooding-related software problem that NHTSA says can lead to a loss of vehicle control.
The recall follows an April 20 incident in which an unmanned Waymo vehicle encountered a potentially uncontrollable flooded area of a road with a 40 mph speed limit and continued at a reduced speed, according to NHTSA.
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The NHTSA report found that when the Waymo robot approached standing water on high-speed roads, it could slow down but fail to come to a complete stop after encountering an accident.
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A Waymo vehicle pulls to the curb to pick up a passenger on February 19, 2026. (Collection of Smith/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
About 3,800 cars that were equipped with the fifth and sixth generation of this company’s Automated Driving Systems (ADS) have been recalled. Regulators estimate the disability rate at 100%.
According to NHTSA, Waymo applied a temporary solution to all affected vehicles on April 20, modifying the authorized scope of operation of its ADS to exclude additional conditions that present a higher risk of encountering a flooded, high-speed road. Waymo is still developing a final solution.
Waymo operates thousands of vehicles across the US, including in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.
FOX Business’ Bonny Chu and Reuters contributed to this report.
