Uber partner Avride is under investigation for self-driving crashes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into Avride, a robotaxi company that has partnered with Uber, after identifying more than a dozen crashes and one minor injury. The safety regulator’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) said all 16 crashes that it has identified have to do with “the competence of” Avride’s self-driving system, which has apparently struggled with changing lanes, responding to other vehicles in the same lane, and responding to stationary objects. All of the crashes have come while the Avride vehicles were under the supervision of a safety monitor in the driver’s seat. Reached for comment, Avride declined to explain why the safety monitors did not intervene in these crashes. The company pointed out that it reported these crashes to the NHTSA as required by the agency’s 2021 Standing General Order on automated driving. “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,” the company said in a statement. “Our total operations have continued to grow, while the frequency of incidents relative to our mileage has steadily declined.” Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Avride, best known for its sidewalk delivery robots, is a subsidiary of Nebius, formerly Yandex NV, the Netherlands-based company that sold off its Russian business in 2024. The company has also spent years developing and testing self-driving cars, and struck a partnership with Uber in 2024. The following year, Uber and its parent company Nebius agreed to make “strategic investments and other commitments” to Avride worth up to $375 million. The investigation comes just a few months after Uber started offering rides in Avride robotaxis in Dallas, Texas, which is where “many of the reported crashes have occurred,” according to the ODI. Some of the crashes also occurred in Austin, Texas. At least one of the reported crashes involved a robotaxi carrying a passenger. Techcrunch event This Week Only: Buy one pass, get the second at 50% off Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register before May 8 to bring a +1 at half the cost. This Week Only: Buy one pass, get the second at 50% off Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register before May 8 to bring a +1 at half the cost. San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 REGISTER NOW The probe arrives amid expanded testing, deployment, and scaling of autonomous vehicle technologies by numerous companies across the United States, drawing increased scrutiny. Waymo is currently being investigated by both NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board for illegal behavior around school buses, and for a January crash in which one of the Alphabet-owned company’s robotaxis struck a child. The ODI said on Friday that it completed a preliminary review of videos of each Avride crash. These videos, according to the office, show “instances of the AVs changing lanes into the path of or directly into other vehicles traveling in an adjacent lane and in close proximity to an AV; failing to slow or stop for slow-moving or stopped vehicles in the lane and path ahead; failing to slow for or avoid vehicles entering the lane and path ahead; and striking stationary objects partially obstructing the lane and path ahead.” The crash that caused a minor injury happened in December 2025 in Dallas, according to data filed with the NHTSA. It involved an Avride-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5 that clipped the open driver’s side door of a parked pickup truck. One of the truck’s occupants sustained a minor injury that did not require hospitalization. Another December crash in Dallas involved an Avride robotaxi that tried to change lanes to avoid a parked pickup truck, according to data filed with the NHTSA. The Avride vehicle turned into a van that was beside it, resulting in damage to both vehicles. Multiple crashes involved other vehicles turning into the Avride robotaxis, though it’s unclear from the descriptions if there was a chance for the robotaxis to avoid those collisions. At least one crash involved an Avride vehicle crashing into a dumpster. Only one of the reported crashes describes the safety monitor attempting to intervene. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Sean O'Kane Sr. Reporter, Transportation Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane. You can contact or verify outreach from Sean by emailing sean.okane@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at okane.01 on Signal. May 27 Athens, Greece StrictlyVC Athens is up next. Hear unfiltered insights straight from Europe’s tech leaders and connect with the people shaping what’s ahead. Lock in your spot before it’s gone. 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