Waymo linked to 50 San Antonio police incidents

Waymo robotaxis were involved in at least 50 incidents in San Antonio over 10 months before the service was shut down. The incidents included traffic blocking, crashes, stranded vehicles, and complaints about reckless driving. The police records show that the cars frequently needed human assistance when they had trouble. The company issued a software recall after an unoccupied Waymo drove into floodwaters and was swept away. The incident revealed the need to improve the cars’ software when operating on high-speed flooded roadways. The service was still shut down but testing continued with autonomous Jaguar I-PACEs. The police and fire department met with Waymo to train first responders on how to work with the vehicles during emergencies. The incidents spanned Waymo’s 60-square-mile service area and were clustered along major corridors. The cars were sometimes stuck in high water and sometimes caused accidents. The company acknowledged that the police records do not fully capture the incidents. The incidents included at least five crashes and several reports of reckless driving. The cars were sometimes gone or not blocking traffic when police arrived. The police said that in some cases, no clear outcome was recorded and in others, the vehicles were not a traffic hazard. The cars were sometimes stranded in water and other situations. The company acknowledged that the incidents showed the challenges of self-driving technology in a city environment.

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