Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company, temporarily suspended its ride-hailing services across San Francisco during a recent citywide power outage. This decision followed numerous online reports and videos showing the company’s self-driving cars becoming immobilized due to non-functional traffic lights.
The widespread blackout led to significant disruption, with Waymo vehicles reportedly stalling at intersections and contributing to traffic congestion. Eyewitness accounts shared on social media platforms depicted scenes of autonomous vehicles unable to navigate the unlit intersections. For instance, one user noted a “MASSIVE jam in North Beach” caused by Waymos, while another observed “6 Waymo’s parked at a broken traffic light blocking the roads,” suggesting the vehicles were not equipped to handle such conditions.
The incident highlighted the challenges autonomous vehicle systems face when encountering unforeseen infrastructure failures, such as widespread power outages that disable critical road signals. Some observations also raised questions about the potential impact of spotty cellular service on the remote operation of these vehicles during such events.
