Baidu robotaxis immobilized in Wuhan, prompting Chinese road safety law reform
More than 100 Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis suddenly stopped operating on Wuhan streets in April 2026, leaving passengers temporarily stranded. The incident prompted Chinese authorities to suspend new robotaxi licenses and draft new road safety legislation with specific regulations for autonomous vehicles, making manufacturers responsible for traffic violations when autonomous functions are engaged.
What happened
In April 2026, more than one hundred autonomous vehicles operated by Baidu became suddenly immobilized on the streets of Wuhan, provoking multiple calls to traffic police and leaving passengers temporarily stranded, though no accidents or injuries were recorded.
The incident prompted Chinese authorities to tighten supervision of autonomous driving and temporarily suspend issuance of new robotaxi licenses.
Reported impact
Passengers were temporarily stranded in the vehicles.
Multiple calls were made to traffic police due to the sudden immobilization of vehicles across the city.
Index analysis
The incident led authorities to conduct a comprehensive safety review of the autonomous vehicle sector before gradually resuming license issuance.
China is now reforming its Road Safety Law to include, for the first time, specific provisions for autonomous vehicles, with manufacturers or importers bearing responsibility for traffic violations committed while autonomous driving is enabled.
Governance controls
The draft law comprises nine chapters and 170 articles, including special provisions for autonomous driving vehicles, defining the concepts of autonomous vehicles and driving assistance functions.
Under the proposed rules, manufacturers and importers will be held responsible for traffic violations when autonomous driving functions are activated, while vehicles operating without these functions will be subject to standard traffic rules.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.