NHTSA Opens Investigation Into Self-Driving Crashes Involving Uber Partner Avride
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into self-driving accidents involving Avride, a robotaxi company partnered with Uber.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into Avride, a robotaxi company that has teamed up with Uber. This move comes after the safety regulator identified over a dozen crashes and one minor injury involving Avride’s self-driving vehicles.
According to the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), all 16 crashes are attributed to 'the competence' of Avride's self-driving system. These incidents reportedly involved challenges such as changing lanes, reacting to other vehicles in the same lane, and handling stationary objects. Notably, these accidents occurred while a safety monitor was present in the driver’s seat.
Avride declined to comment on why its safety monitors did not intervene during these crashes. The company stated that it had implemented targeted technical and operational mitigations after each incident between December 2025 and March 2026, leading to enhanced overall system capabilities. It also mentioned that the frequency of incidents relative to its mileage has steadily decreased.
Uber did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Avride, known for its sidewalk delivery robots, is a subsidiary of Nebius, formerly Yandex NV, a Netherlands-based company. Avride began developing and testing self-driving cars in 2024 and partnered with Uber the same year. In 2025, Uber and Nebius agreed to make strategic investments worth up to $375 million in Avride.
The investigation follows closely on the heels of Uber’s launch of robotaxi services using Avride vehicles in Dallas, Texas. According to ODI, many of these crashes occurred here, with others taking place in Austin, Texas.
One of the notable crashes involved a passenger in an Avride-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5 that struck a parked pickup truck’s open driver's side door, causing minor injury to one of its occupants. Another crash saw an Avride vehicle attempting to change lanes to avoid a parked van but ended up colliding with it.
Technological advancements in self-driving vehicles are being closely monitored by regulatory bodies like the NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board, as evidenced by Waymo's ongoing investigation for illegal behavior around school buses and a January crash involving one of its robotaxis striking a child.
