NHTSA Is Sick Of Self-Driving Cars Getting In The Way Of Emergency Responders Despite the unending amount of headaches first responders willingly deal with on a day-to-day basis, technology over the last few years has forced a new mega-headache onto the front lines in the form of autonomous vehicles. Designed to get humans from place to place without a driver, these "robots" on wheels are the stars of first responders' nightmares and keeping them from attending to emergencies in a timely matter. Well, enough is enough, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration put out a letter this week that said autonomous vehicles getting in first responders' ways is absolutely "unacceptable" and the agency is determined to fix it. The letter follows a recent closed-door meeting NHTSA had with law enforcement and first responders from areas where AVs are deployed to better understand the problems and nuances they've had to face while simply trying to do their job to save lives. What was shared there is unlikely to have been pretty, as even just the handful of incidents Jalopnik has covered in recent months doesn't paint a great picture. Jonathan Morrison, NHTSA administrator, wrote, "To state it bluntly: an AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public." ... "Every second matters when law enforcement officers, firefighters, or paramedics are answering a call because lives are on the line. That is why human drivers who impede these operations are subject to fines and even jail time." The problem is more than just a minor software anomaly Morrison went on to cite examples familiar those multiple news sites — Jalopnik included — have reported on, like the blocking of ambulances and firefighters, or failing to recognize basic safety alerts and conditions. He told autonomous vehicle