Waymos Cause Traffic Jams Across City During Power Outage

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay these robotaxis of their appointed trips — but a power outage apparently will.

On Saturday evening, a blackout left nearly a third of San Francisco in the dark. But its most visible casualties were Waymo robocabs, which were left stranded on the city streets like large toys inconveniently discarded by a child.

Footage shared online shows numerous Waymos stalled in the middle of busy roads, blocking human motorists. Often, the self-driving cabs were gaggled together, serving to unintentionally cordon off city blocks, their emergency lights blinking in unison. In one video, at least five Waymo robotaxis can be seen piled up in the same intersection. It appeared that without traffic lights to guide them, the highly advanced cars were utterly rudderless.

“Somebody’s gonna set this thing on fire if it doesn’t move soon,” a pedestrian observed, as motorists honked their horns in vain at a frozen Waymo.

In short, it was a PR disaster. With its cabs going on strike of their own accord, Waymo simply made it official and suspended ride-hailing services that evening following the power outage. It’s now resumed rides as of Sunday afternoon.

“Yesterday’s power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement, via CNBC. “While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.”

It was an edge case to be sure, but the episode will put a dent in Waymo’s image, and perhaps robotaxis at large. Though Waymo reports a stellar safety record, the cabs remain controversial with locals due to the disruptions they cause, a sentiment that has reached a boiling point over incidents such as when a Waymo struck and killed a beloved San Francisco bodega cat.

It’s fair to criticize the company for seemingly not having a contingency plan in place for an event like a power outage. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose self-driving cars have been involved in their fair share of blunders as well as deadly accidents, was quick to make this point by gloating about his own autonomous fleet.

“Tesla Robotaxis were unaffected by the SF power outage,” he tweeted.

We don’t know if Musk’s claim is actually true, but it shows that the Tesla-Waymo rivalry is still in full-swing, even if Musk’s automaker remains a distant second. Musk has used Waymo accidents and blunders to needle the company in the past, and has shown he wasn’t above some literal dick-measuring.

Still, this is far from the first time Waymos have disrupted traffic. The robotaxis have shown that they can be overwhelmed by events that fall outside their programming, like a parade or a police standoff. These aren’t easy things to account for — but you might demand better from a company that already has thousands of autonomous cabs operating across the country.

More on Waymo: Waymo Spotted Driving Wrong Way Down Busy Street

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