The investigation was officially opened on May 10.
Both collisions involved Toyota Highlanders equipped with Amazon's Zoox ADS (automated driving system). In each case, the Highlanders abruptly stopped and motorcyclists crashed into them from behind, according to documents posted on the NHTSA website.
The agency said it confirmed that the vehicles were in autonomous mode before the collisions. No law enforcement agencies are investigating the incidents, according to the NHTSA.
The agency said it will specifically investigate the performance of the Zoox automated driving system and other general performance areas, such as the system's behavior in crosswalks around vulnerable road users and in other rear-end collision scenarios.
Following the crash in San Francisco, NHTSA officials said the motorcyclist appeared to suffer minor injuries to their hands but declined medical attention. Following the second crash, which occurred in Spring Valley, Nevada, a Zoox operator reported lower back pain/tightness.
The NHTSA redacted information about where and when each crash occurred last month.
"Our team is currently reviewing the request for information as part of NHTSA's Preliminary Evaluation (PE)," a spokesperson for Zoox said Monday. "We do not have additional details to share at this time. Transparency and collaboration with regulators is of the utmost importance, and we remain committed to working closely with NHTSA to answer their questions."
The Foster City-based self-driving-car startup was founded in 2014, and in 2020 was sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion. The company is currently testing its vehicles in San Francisco, Foster City, Las Vegas and Seattle, according to its website. The company said on its website that its entire test fleet is made up of retrofitted hybrid Toyota Highlanders. While the test vehicles operate autonomously, they always have a safety driver sitting behind the steering wheel, Zoox told the Chronicle.
The test vehicles, which operate with Zoox ADS technology, differ from what the company says is their official "robotaxi", which the company said is a "purpose-built vehicle that does not have traditional driving controls such as a steering wheel and gas or brake pedals."
Robotaxis have been a highly debated topic in San Francisco after several incidents involving driverless vehicles raised safety concerns. Currently, the only robotaxi with driverless operations in the city is Waymo, which recently reported a jump in ride-hailing activity since the start of this year.
Waymo's top competitor, Cruise, was suspended from operating in the city last October after it withheld footage of one of its robotaxis running over a woman and trapping her underneath the robotaxi, which then led to the company ceasing all driverless operations. Last month, company leaders said they would resume manual driving operations in Phoenix, the beginning of what they hope is their return to driverless operations.
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