Following a hiatus of over two months from highway operations, Waymo, the titan of autonomous driving, is progressively reinstating its self-driving taxi services on highway routes. Previously, the company had proactively limited operations in highway construction zones, prompted by anomalous vehicle behavior detected in the vicinity of these areas. In June 2026, Waymo issued a recall for roughly 3,871 self-driving taxis, citing software flaws that could lead vehicles to persist in high-speed travel within enclosed highway construction zones. These vehicles failed to acknowledge zone boundaries, thereby elevating the risk of collisions. The recalled taxis predominantly employed fifth-generation autonomous driving systems and were deployed across various locales, including Phoenix and San Francisco.

To rectify these issues, Waymo implemented software updates and introduced supplementary measures such as geofencing—a technology that uses GPS to create virtual geographic boundaries—and restrictions based on weather conditions. These enhancements have paved the way for the gradual reintroduction of highway services.