NHTSA to Autonomous Vehicle Industry: Emergency Scenes Aren't Edge Cases

NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison warned autonomous vehicle companies on July 8, 2026, to stop interfering with first responders. "Edge cases" — industry shorthand for rare, statistically uncommon scenarios — don't apply to real-world hazards, Morrison wrote. The letter followed Zoox's recall of its 105-vehicle robotaxi fleet over a failure near a smoke scene.