Some of Waymo’s robotaxis in San Francisco weren’t all that autonomous on Independence Day.
Several San Francisco residents posted footage Saturday night of Waymo vehicles either malfunctioning, stalling, or being towed away during the chaos of Fourth of July celebrations.
“We’re being told it could take 3-4 hours to tow the disabled vehicles before traffic can move again,” an X user who goes by Marco Gutierrez wrote beneath a video of a Waymo being towed.
Other X users posted footage of stalled cars, traffic jams, and in one instance, a Waymo driving straight through an erupting box of fireworks.
Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli told Business Insider that severe traffic congestion disrupted normal operations for some of the company’s cars.
“In coordination with local authorities and emergency services, our roadside assistance team worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area,” Bonelli said. “Our team is always evaluating ways to strengthen Waymo’s resilience in major traffic disruptions.”
Waymo said northern San Francisco saw major traffic congestion during Saturday’s celebrations, as well as unplanned road closures after the Golden Gate Bridge fireworks. The company said some of its vehicles became stuck in gridlock, while others were able to drive away once congestion cleared. Some vehicles ran out of charge while idling and had to be towed.
The company said its roadside assistance team handled towing logistics, no injuries were reported, and the vehicles were operating fully autonomously.
Waymo’s autonomous navigation relies on a multi-sensor system — 29 cameras, five lidars, and six radars — to give its AI drivers different ways to perceive an environment. The Alphabet company has so far deployed about 2,500 robotaxis across multiple US cities.
