A Waymo robotaxi blocked the path of Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade Friday after the autonomous vehicle stopped at an intersection.
The robotaxi apparently got stuck while making a U-turn in front of San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel. Authorities spent several minutes troubleshooting the issue while traffic piled up behind them.
An officer eventually drove the autonomous vehicle out of the intersection.
HAPPENING NOW: A driverless @Waymo gets stuck making a u-turn as @VP’s motorcade arrived at the Fairmont S.F.
— LaurenABC7 (@LaurenABC7) September 28, 2024
An SFPD officer had to manually drive the vehicle out. We’re hearing this wasn’t the only one… @abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/uCdiTf9lbB
While Waymo hasn’t commented on the apparent malfunction, the incident shows off the Google-owned company’s safety protocols. According to the firm, whenever a Waymo vehicle is involved in a collision or stalls in the street, trained authorities can remove the car by communicating with Waymo staff or driving the vehicle out of the area.
Still, viral incidents involving Waymo vehicles erode public trust, something the company wants to avoid as it expands. Recently, Waymo vehicles have been recorded going the wrong way on San Francisco roads and blocking freeway access to human drivers.
Additionally, the company is under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over two dozen collisions involving Waymo robotaxis.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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