Amazon’s robotaxi Zoox turns into oncoming traffic and forces a sudden stop
Just before the end of the year, Amazon’s robotaxi venture Zoox found itself in an awkward position. Its self driving cars on US roads developed an alarming habit of drifting into oncoming lanes, breaking traffic rules so consistently that the company had no choice but to launch an official recall. The consolation sounded very modern. The culprit was software, and the fix arrived as a software update.
The Amazon owned Zoox recalled 332 vehicles used in its robotaxi operations. Internal data showed that from late summer to early December the autonomous cars attempted to cross the yellow centre line and enter opposing traffic lanes on more than sixty occasions. In some cases, they even stopped there, as if patiently waiting for the traffic police, who never came.
Zoox’s investigation concluded that the manoeuvres occurred without any visible external cause. The company said it identified the root of the problem but chose not to disclose technical details. That kind of restraint counts as standard practice in the autonomous vehicle world, where transparency often stops short of real explanations.
Over the past few days, Zoox deployed a new software version across all robotaxis operating on public roads. According to the company, the update resolved the issue. Even so, Zoox pledged to continue closely monitoring vehicle behaviour and to introduce further refinements if needed, so that the machines follow traffic logic as faithfully as road signs demand.
At present, Zoox offers robotaxi services in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Next on the list are Austin and Miami, cities whose traffic patterns may present a fresh set of challenges for even the most confident algorithms.
The progress of autonomous vehicles rarely follows a straight line, no matter what the marketing suggests. Major technology companies, including Amazon, pour billions into self driving services, yet a single software logic error can flip the narrative overnight. The episode underlines a simple truth. The future of robotaxis depends less on bold promises and more on the unglamorous, relentless discipline of getting the software right, day after day.
