A pack of seven automated taxis from Google’s self-driving company Waymo caused a traffic jam on a San Francisco freeway, raising safety questions about the robotic vehicles.
At 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the seven taxis were on the way back to their depot when they encountered a road closure. The only way around it was to take the freeway, according to Waymo.
The vehicles then pulled away from the road closure and stopped, blocking the way for several other drivers. Waymo dispatched a roadside assistance team to clear the roadway and said the issue was solved within 30 minutes.
Waymo is licensed to operate in the San Francisco area but not on the freeways surrounding the city without a human driver. That may have been the reason for the vehicles’ abrupt stop.
Waymo said it’s introducing automated taxi service on freeways in other states before moving to California.
The incident raises questions about the viability of Waymo’s robotaxi program as the company expands its operations. Residents in cities where Waymo operates — such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, Texas — have reported Waymo cars blocking traffic or emergency vehicles.
While traffic jams are a normal part of city life, usually there is a human counterpart to communicate with during those stressful times. However, as safety officials have noted, it’s impossible to move the automated taxis without Waymo’s help, and they can’t even issue traffic citations to the vehicles.
General Motors’ automated taxi company Cruise recently lost its license to operate in California after a viral video showed one of its taxis dragging a pedestrian under its wheels as it tried to pull over.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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