Self-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders. NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morris called reports that self-driving cars had driven into emergency scenes and blocked ambulances and firefighters "unacceptable." The head of the top US road safety agency cautioned autonomous vehicle developers in a letter Wednesday about what he called an "unacceptable" pattern of driverless cars interfering with the work of law enforcement and other first responders. "To state it bluntly: An AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public," Jonathan Morrison, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), wrote in a letter that he described as a "call to action" for technology developers. Morrison wrote that NHTSA has documented a " clear pattern" of interference over the last few months, including incidents in which the vehicles drove into active emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and firefighters, and didn't respond in situations involving flashing lights, fire, and traffic cones.

The agency is giving autonomous vehicle makers until the end of July to figure out a solution. The US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is demanding action from autonomous car makers after identifying a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders over the past months. Jonathan Morrison, the agency's administrator, wrote a letter addressing the developers and issuing a call to action. Emergency situations are not rare or edge cases, he wrote, so he wants AV developers and operators focus their resources on fixing the issue immediately. While the NHTSA didn't give specific examples, there have been news about self-driving vehicles getting in the way of ambulances and fire trucks, like in the image above, for years.

Waymo passengers were terrified as a driverless car drove into lit fireworks on a San Francisco street during Fourth of July celebrations. No injuries were reported.

Can China repeat its EV success with robotaxis? In Beijing's Yizhuang district, driverless vehicles have become a common sight. Robotaxis weave through traffic alongside ordinary cars, while autonomous delivery vans glide along the inside lane as they carry packages to collection points. The district has become one of China's testing grounds for autonomous driving, with companies including Baidu, WeRide and Pony.ai operating commercial robotaxi services within designated areas. Booking a ride requires little more than opening an app.

Zoox updated its driverless robotaxi with comfort upgrades and two-way audio. The autonomous vehicle is live in Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Tesla vehicles and super chargers are shown at a Tesla dealership in Buena Park, California, on 28 January 2026. Tesla vehicles and super chargers are shown at a Tesla dealership in Buena Park, California, on 28 January 2026. Strong figures suggest Tesla's auto business is regaining momentum after two straight annual sales declines Tesla blew past Wall Street estimates for second-quarter deliveries on Thursday, posting a record for the period as recovering demand in Europe outweighed persistent weakness in North America. The strong figures suggest Tesla's mainstay auto business is regaining momentum after two straight annual sales declines, providing the spending cushion needed to power its ambitions in autonomous driving and artificial intelligence - the main drivers of the company's roughly $1.6tn valuation. Tesla expects to spend more than $25bn on capital expenditure in 2026, nearly triple the $8.5bn last year, to expand AI infrastructure, battery production, Cybercab manufacturing and Optimus robots.

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Amazon Zoox's latest robotaxi looks (marginally) less like a toy car Amazon Zoox's latest robotaxi looks (marginally) less like a toy car The company said it will soon begin large-scale production of its autonomous vehicle. Zoox, the self-driving startup that Amazon purchased in 2020, has showed off the new version of its autonomous vehicle that it says was designed for large-scale production. While it still looks like the old version the company introduced in 2020, the new vehicle comes with changes that improve its comfort for riders and make it easier to interact with. The company relocated the vehicle's bidirectional reflectors for better visibility and made them rotate colors to better distinguish its front from its rear, seeing as the robotaxi has a boxy form factor. It also gave the speaker and microphone on the door two-way audio capabilities to enable communication between riders and road users, as well as between first responders and Zoox support.

An artificial intelligence-equipped camera system shows a person trapped inside a railway crossing gate during a test by Kintetsu Railway. A growing number of Japanese railway operators are introducing artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems to help prevent accidents involving trains at level crossings. The technology can automatically detect and report abnormalities, such as stalled vehicles or people trapped on the tracks, enabling train drivers and other railway staff to respond more quickly. Industry officials view AI as an effective tool for improving crossing safety, while the government has started offering financial support to encourage wider adoption. Kintetsu Railway, based in the city of Osaka, has tested an AI-equipped camera system at a crossing on the Kyoto Line in the town of Seika, Kyoto Prefecture.

First global rules adopted for self-driving cars, U.N. says Safety concerns and costs have long slowed progress on autonomous vehicles. The first global regulations for fully autonomous vehicles were adopted Wednesday, a U.N. agency said, establishing uniform international safety requirements that could pave the way for larger-scale rollouts of self-driving cars. Safety concerns and the cost of developing next-level systems have long slowed progress on autonomous vehicles. As self-driving cars have begun to hit the road in a growing number of cities, the fragmented national approaches to regulation have spurred manufacturer fears that vehicles developed for one market could be blocked from others. In a bid to address that issue, a meeting of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations at the United Nations in Geneva decided to introduce a global regulatory framework for vehicles equipped with fully autonomous driving systems (ADS).