Shafaqna English- Zoox, the Amazon‑owned developer of self‑driving cars, said Friday(17 Jul 2026) it would pull its entire fleet of 105 autonomous vehicles off the road, citing concerns that they may not detect heavy smoke and could get in the way of emergency crews.
The top U.S. auto safety official warned last week that self‑driving car makers need to swiftly fix a “clear pattern” of driverless vehicles interfering with law enforcement and other first responders, which had become a significant safety concern.
According to Zoox’s Friday(17 Jul 2026) statement, on June 20 an empty autonomous Zoox vehicle encountered dense smoke that hid an active emergency fire scene. The vehicle proceeded into the scene, hit the brakes hard while trying to steer away, and eventually came to a stop.