Waymo has proven to be the shining example of what an autonomous-vehicle future could be, with a robotaxi fleet that’s already safer than human drivers. However, the service’s driverless taxis aren’t quite perfect yet. Three Waymo vehicles found themselves in an apparent standoff on a San Francisco street last weekend. To make matters worse, our trio of awkward desperados were blocking traffic on a dead-end street. The situation was resolved only after a Waymo employee arrived on the scene.
@chii_rinna Not the Waymo Standoff in San Francisco #waymo#ai #sanfrancisco #selfdrivingcar #rideshare
Video on social media showed the three robotaxis in the midst of their showdown. A pair of Waymo’s Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs froze after hitting each other. Then, a third driverless taxi approached the collision and stopped to wait for the path to clear. TikTok user chii_rinna stumbled upon the scene and asked another bystander what happened. They responded, “I don’t know, I just pulled out of the garage and I saw this going on, like Waymo standoff. I’m just trying to get out of here.” Things seemed to right themselves once one car was backed out of the way.
Waymo is expanding across the nation
Despite this minor hiccup, Waymo is still venturing to farther flung locations and traveling on faster roads. The company announced plans to expand to Detroit, Las Vegas and San Diego last month. Waymo is already laying the groundwork for an expansion into the country’s most populous market, New York City, with test vehicles logging miles around the Big Apple. The vehicles in the company’s established markets are now able to use highways, specifically in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
This standout isn’t the only minor incident involving Waymo in the past month. One of its robotaxis rolled through a felony stop in Los Angeles. LAPD officers drew their weapons and attempted to apprehend the driver of a pickup truck at an intersection. A Waymo vehicle just casually made a left-hand turn through the intersection, rolling past the driver as he complied with police orders and laid face down on the pavement. Waymo robotaxi might be better drivers than humans, but driving is the only thing they know how to do. Societal self-preservation isn’t really in its skillset.
