Waymo's driverless cars ran into a string of problems in San Francisco over the Fourth of July, in what has been described as a meltdown for the robo-taxi service. One of the self-driving vehicles drove right over illegal fireworks going off in the street, while a cluster of the cars got stuck in gridlock following the city's fireworks show. The incidents have raised fresh questions about the safety and reliability of the technology.
Rose Peterson and her fiancé were riding in a Waymo in San Francisco on July 4th when the robo-taxi drove right over illegal fireworks that had been set off in the middle of the street. According to Peterson, the car gave no reaction at all. It didn't even stop, it didn't brake, and it didn't hesitate, she said, describing how the vehicle just kept going as if nothing had happened.
The company said no one was hurt in the incident, but Peterson said the experience left her questioning how safe the car really was. We were just really upset and distraught and just thinking about what could have happened, not just to us, but the people around us, she said. She was troubled that the technology did not appear able to identify that there was something in the road it should not have driven over.
Nearby, several Waymo cars became trapped in heavy traffic in the wake of the city's big fireworks celebration. One resident, Dave Gangona, filmed the scene after getting caught in the gridlock himself, capturing a line of the driverless vehicles boxed in on the street. People were getting out of their cars and yelling amid the standstill as the robo-taxis sat motionless.
The gridlock left some riders stuck for an extended time, and passengers were left furious when their rides ran out of battery in the middle of the congestion. The scenes added to a chaotic holiday night on the city's streets, with the driverless cars struggling to cope with the crowds and disruptions around the fireworks.
Waymo said it is committed to safety and that it is evaluating and learning from these events as it moves forward. The Fourth of July troubles are the latest in a series of high-profile mishaps for the driverless car service, and they have added to the scrutiny the company faces as it continues to expand its robo-taxi operations.