11:52 AM EDT, 05/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday released a letter sent to Alphabet's (GOOG) Waymo unit saying it has learned of nine additional incidents related to Waymo's self-driving cars.

The agency said in the letter that earlier this month it had opened a probe after receiving "22 reports of unexpected driving behaviors leading to crashes and potential traffic safety law violations" in some cars equipped with Waymo's fifth generation automated driving system.

The NHTSA said in the letter it has identified nine more similar reports since the probe was opened.

Waymo reported some of the incidents, while others were identified via publicly available information, the agency said.

"Reports include collisions with stationary and semi-stationary objects such as gates and chains, collisions with parked vehicles, and instances in which the ADS appeared to disobey traffic safety control devices or rules (e.g., ADS-equipped vehicles driving in opposing lanes with nearby oncoming traffic and driving into construction zones)," the agency said in the letter.

The NHTSA said it's "concerned that ADS-equipped vehicles exhibiting such unexpected driving behaviors may increase the risk of crash, property damage, and injury."

The agency said it's "unaware of injury allegations" but "several of the incidents involved collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid."

The agency said in the letter it's asking Waymo to provide information about the incidents.

Waymo and Alphabet didn't immediately respond to requests for comment by MT Newswires.

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