Waymo’s robotaxis can deal with loads of issues, however a large Fourth of July crowd is not one among them, as San Francisco residents realized this previous weekend.
The corporate’s driverless automobiles are being blamed for contributing to the visitors chaos earlier than and after a July 4th fireworks occasion on Saturday evening. In accordance with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, greater than 100,000 folks gathered close to the Golden Gate Bridge for the present. Nevertheless, they have been met with lengthy strains of stalled Waymos, which struggled to maneuver round crowds strolling alongside the roads close to the historic bridge to see the fireworks.
We noticed a protracted line of robotaxis all caught behind one stalled Waymo. A police officer stood close by, overseeing the scenario. Then, whereas leaving the foggy fireworks present, we caught the same scene, however with a tow truck close by, seemingly able to take one of many Waymos away. San Francisco residents laughed as they watched the scene unfold.
(Credit score: PCMag/Michael Kan)
Alphabet-owned Waymo informed PCMag that the excessive quantity of vacationers and unplanned street closures additionally contributed to the disruption, as many individuals tried to achieve the fireworks present by automotive. Though Waymo says most of the robotaxis have been capable of drive away as soon as the congestion lifted, different automobiles ran out of vitality whereas idling and required a tow truck.
“On July 4th, excessive visitors congestion in Northern San Francisco disrupted regular operations for a number of Waymo automobiles,” Waymo mentioned in an announcement. “In coordination with native authorities and emergency providers, our roadside help staff labored shortly to clear our automobiles from the realm. Our staff is at all times evaluating methods to strengthen Waymo’s resilience in main visitors disruptions.”
(Credit score: PCMag/Michael Kan)
The corporate did not elaborate on the way it would possibly keep away from the same jam sooner or later. Nevertheless, the incident exhibits that driverless automobiles can freeze up and malfunction throughout uncommon occasions, as they did in December throughout a energy outage in San Francisco. The blackout shut down visitors lights, inflicting the automobiles to deal with every intersection as a four-way cease. However in some circumstances, the automobiles discovered themselves caught, creating visitors jams. Therefore, it’s in all probability greatest to keep away from a robotaxi if extraordinary visitors circumstances emerge or a pure catastrophe strikes.
San Francisco’s KRON 4 additionally reviews {that a} Waymo drove over an exploding firework on Saturday. A passenger posted video of the incident, however nobody contained in the automotive was harmed.
Some blamed the mayhem on the town. “I rode by every little thing, and it was a large failure by the town. Good intentions, however they need to have closed off a lot of the roads to non-public automobiles and solely relied on buses,” wrote one person on Reddit.
“The additional shuttles have been completely packed. We needed to get an uber then bail on it when it was caught in visitors. Ended up strolling,” wrote one other person.
About Our Professional
Michael Kan
Principal Reporter
Expertise
I have been a journalist for over 15 years. I bought my begin as a faculties and cities reporter in Kansas Metropolis and joined PCMag in 2017, the place I cowl satellite tv for pc web providers, cybersecurity, PC {hardware}, and extra. I am presently primarily based in San Francisco, however beforehand spent over 5 years in China, masking the nation’s expertise sector.
Since 2020, I’ve lined the launch and explosive progress of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service, writing 600+ tales on availability and have launches, but in addition the regulatory battles over the growth of satellite tv for pc constellations, fights with rival suppliers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the hassle to develop into satellite-based cellular service. I’ve combed by FCC filings for the most recent information and pushed to distant corners of California to check Starlink’s mobile service.
I additionally cowl cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC pressured Avast to pay shoppers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and promoting their private data to third-party shoppers, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I additionally cowl the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in entrance of a Greatest Purchase to get an RTX 3000. I am now following how the AI-driven reminiscence scarcity is impacting your entire client electronics market. I am at all times wanting to study extra, so please soar within the feedback with suggestions and ship me suggestions.
