Uber partner Avride faces investigation over self-driving vehicle crashes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into autonomous vehicle company Avride after identifying more than a dozen crashes involving its self-driving vehicles, including one incident that resulted in a minor injury.

According to the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), the probe currently covers 16 crashes connected to Avride’s autonomous driving system. Regulators said the incidents raise concerns about the “competence” of the company’s self-driving technology in situations involving lane changes, nearby vehicles, and stationary obstacles on the road.

The ODI said the crashes indicate the vehicles may have struggled to change lanes safely, respond appropriately to vehicles in adjacent lanes, slow down for stopped or slow-moving traffic, and avoid fixed objects that partially block the roadway.

All reported crashes occurred while a human safety monitor was seated behind the wheel.

When asked about the incidents, Avride declined to explain why the human safety operators did not intervene during the crashes. However, the company emphasised that it had properly disclosed the incidents to federal regulators under the NHTSA’s 2021 Standing General Order governing automated driving systems.

“We have implemented targeted technical and operational mitigations to address our findings from each reported incident between December 2025 and March 2026, and have further enhanced overall system capabilities,” Avride said in a statement.

The company also said its operations have continued expanding while the rate of incidents relative to total driving mileage has steadily decreased.

Avride is best known for developing autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, but it has also spent years developing self-driving passenger-vehicle technology. The company is a subsidiary of Nebius, formerly known as Yandex NV, a Netherlands-based company that separated from its Russian operations in 2024. Avride entered into a partnership with Uber in 2024 to deploy autonomous ride-hailing vehicles. In 2025, Uber and Nebius announced strategic investments and commitments to Avride totalling up to $375 million. The investigation comes only months after Uber officially began offering rides in Avride robotaxis in Dallas, Texas, where many of the reported crashes occurred. Some incidents also took place in Austin, Texas.

At least one of the crashes involved a robotaxi carrying a passenger. The probe adds to growing federal scrutiny around autonomous vehicle testing and deployment in the United States as multiple companies rapidly expand operations.

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving division, is also currently facing investigations by both the NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board over incidents involving school buses and a January crash in which one of its robotaxis struck a child.

The ODI said investigators reviewed video footage from all of the Avride crashes as part of the preliminary investigation. According to the agency, the footage showed several troubling driving behaviours, including robotaxis changing lanes directly into nearby vehicles, failing to slow down for stopped traffic ahead, failing to react properly to vehicles entering their lane, and colliding with stationary objects that blocked portions of the roadway.

One of the most serious incidents occurred in December 2025 in Dallas and involved an Avride-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5. According to filings submitted to the NHTSA, the robotaxi struck the open driver-side door of a parked pickup truck. A passenger inside the truck suffered a minor injury, though hospitalisation was not required.

Another crash in Dallas during the same month involved an Avride robotaxi attempting to avoid a parked pickup truck by changing lanes. During the manoeuvre, the vehicle reportedly collided with a van travelling beside it, causing damage to both vehicles. Several of the reported crashes involved other drivers turning into Avride vehicles. In some of those cases, it remains unclear whether the autonomous system had enough time or ability to avoid the collision.

At least one crash involved an Avride vehicle striking a dumpster partially obstructing the roadway. According to the ODI’s findings so far, only one of the 16 crash reports described a human safety monitor actively attempting to intervene before impact. The NHTSA investigation remains ongoing.