Waymo recently announced an expansion of its self-driving robotaxis into five more cities across the United States, including Dallas, Houston, and Orlando. That may be good news for commuters who want to get to their destination efficiently, but an incident in San Francisco this week shows that these robotaxis aren’t always better than having a human at the wheel. In a video that’s gone viral, two Waymo taxis struck each other, while a third one became involved in a robotaxi standoff that blocked the road completely. That wasn't the only unusual incident involving a Waymo driverless cab this month.
Cul-de-Sac Stumps Waymo Robotaxis
Chii_Rinna via Storyful
The incident occurred on December 6, with two of the Waymo taxis making mild contact on what appeared to be a dead-end road. A third taxi coming from the opposite direction added to the chaos by apparently sensing the other two taxis and coming to a standstill. The three vehicles were then locked in a standoff that left onlookers bemused and other drivers frustrated, as the road became blocked. Waymo employees later arrived on the scene in an attempt to diffuse the situation and get the taxis moving again.
The incident occurred just a few days before Waymo released a statement reviewing its year, saying that its robotaxis achieved a more than 10-fold reduction in serious injury or worse crashes when compared to human drivers. To be fair, nobody was injured in this San Francisco incident, but the event does demonstrate the limitations of self-driving technologies. This particular scenario—three taxis stuck in a dead-end road—is an unusual situation, and the tech simply couldn’t work out how to get the cars unstuck.
Related: Waymo’s Driverless Cars Can Now Drive Themselves on Highways
Not The Only Crazy Waymo Story This Month
Waymo
While the San Francisco crash isn’t the kind of press coverage Waymo would want, another story involving one of the company’s robotaxis had a distinctly different tone. As per NBC News, a pregnant woman in labor ended up giving birth in the back of a robotaxi when on her way to the hospital. Both mother and child arrived safely at the University of California San Francisco Hospital before emergency services could get to her. It’s very likely that, were it not for the efficient robotaxi, the mother would have been left without assistance for even longer.
"We’re proud to be a trusted ride for moments big and small, serving riders from just seconds old to many years young," a Waymo spokesperson said. "We wish the new family all the best, and we look forward to safely getting them where they’re going through many of life’s events."
The Waymo and Tesla Robotaxi Battle Continues
Steven Paul
Waymo and Tesla are both competing in the robotaxi space. While both companies tout impressive safety standards for their self-driving taxis, each has had a few worrying incidents. Tesla robotaxis have been involved in several crashes already, as widely reported earlier this year.
In a heated exchange on X (formerly Twitter) this week, Tesla boss Elon Musk claimed that Waymo “never really had a chance against Tesla.” He made this statement when responding to Google DeepMind Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, who pointed out that Waymo has covered far more rider-only autonomous miles than Tesla.
Whichever robotaxi company wins the war, let’s hope that there are fewer safety-related incidents than we’ve seen so far.
Related: Rimac One-Ups Musk By Revealing a Fleet of Robotaxis Before Tesla Does
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