Uber partner Avride faces NHTSA investigation over self-driving crashes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal investigation into Avride, the autonomous-vehicle company that operates rides on the Uber platform. The agency said the docket covers more than a dozen crashes and at least one minor injury. The probe will examine how the vehicles' perception and decision-making stacks comply with traffic rules.

Avride was spun out of the former self-driving unit of Yandex. Its fleet ferries passengers as part of Uber's on-demand service in Texas cities including Austin and Dallas, and also operates sidewalk delivery robots for Uber Eats. The company says it is fully cooperating with NHTSA and has rolled out two safety-focused software updates over the past six months.

The investigation lands at a moment of intensifying US scrutiny of self-driving technology. The agency has opened new dockets this year covering Tesla's Full Self-Driving system and Waymo's robotaxis. The Avride case could help reset industry safety thresholds for passenger transport, and a recall remains on the table depending on the agency's findings.