SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Waymo has pulled its driverless cars from U.S. freeways after announcing it will pause all freeway service while the robotaxi provider updates its vehicles' software to improve navigation in construction zones.
The move affects more than 3,500 Waymo vehicles that drove on freeways in major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, USA Today reported. It comes after a Waymo was seen fleeing police and speeding through a San Francisco construction zone and after striking a child near a Santa Monica elementary school earlier this year.
The Mountain View-based Waymo announced on Friday the temporary end to its freeway service in metro cities "out of an abundance of caution" as storms triggered flooding in Texas and Atlanta where the robotaxis operate.
In an email to Patch on Tuesday, a Waymo spokesperson said:
"We are committed to being good neighbors for our riders and our communities. As part of that commitment, we make proactive decisions including temporarily pausing aspects of our service. We know riders count on us to get around, and we appreciate their patience as we work to get them where they're going safely and reliably."
On May 20, a Waymo vehicle became stuck during heavy showers on a flooded street in Atlanta. No one was inside of the robotaxi, Waymo said in a statement.
In California, a more dramatic incident garnered headlines.
On May 18, X user Elliot Slade @Elliot_slade posted a video, in which he said a Waymo robotaxi he was taking from San Mateo was speeding through a construction zone as the vehicle was being chased by police.
"The scariest part, we're all like OK, something's happening," he told CBS News. "We're just going to pull over, we're going to be safe. Then it accelerated to highway speeds down this construction lane...There were construction signs. There were lights going on. Police in the distance and it sped up. That's when I looked at my fiancée, we're done. This is it. We're dead. We're going to die right here in the Waymo."
Before the suspension, Waymo freeway rides were only available only in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Miami.
Amid a push for tighter regulations of autonomous vehicles in California, nearly 3,800 autonomous vehicles owned by Waymo were also recalled earlier this month due to a software issue.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a letter on May 11 documenting the worldwide Waymo recall to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In the letter, the department said the software issue affecting Waymo's recalled robotaxis "may allow the vehicle to slow and then drive into standing water on higher speed
roadways."
"Entering a flooded roadway can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury," the report states.
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A Waymo spokesperson told Patch none of those vehicles recalled were deployed to California. The company currently has about 1,100 vehicles in its San Francisco area commercial fleet and 800 in its Los Angeles commercial fleet.
In a statement emailed to Patch on Tuesday, Waymo said:
"Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority. We have identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways, and have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to this scenario. We are working to implement additional software safeguards and have put mitigations in place, including refining our extreme weather operations during periods of intense rain, limiting access to areas where flash flooding might occur."
Waymo made national headlines earlier this month after dozens of its empty robotaxis were caught on camera invading an Atlanta neighborhood for hours.
Waymo has been testing and developing autonomous vehicles for more than 17 years, starting with the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, and recently expanded its robotaxi service to freeways and highways around San Francisco, Los Angeles Nashville, and Phoenix. Last year, Waymo robotaxis started picking up riders curbside in autonomous vehicles at San Jose Mineta International Airport.
Last year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles approved the expansion of the robotaxis by allowing the Google-owned company to operate its fully autonomous vehicles in dozens of additional California cities.
RELATED: Waymo Taxi Involved In Rollover Crash In Los Angeles
In January, Waymo's robotaxis were officially available at San Francisco International Airport for curbside service after undergoing a testing phase.
Before deciding to compete against conventional ride-hailing pioneers Uber and Lyft in California, Waymo — owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet — unleashed its robotaxis in Phoenix in 2020. Now it has extended the reach of its service to highways around that Arizona city.
Autonomous vehicles have raised concerns from state officials after driverless vehicles on California highways were caught on camera violating traffic laws and obstructing first responders.
As more driverless vehicles hit California highways, state officials have responded with a new set of regulations that could affect autonomous vehicles like robotaxis, and motorists who share the road with them.
RELATED: CA Congressman Proposes Autonomous Vehicle Safety Rules
Last month, the state adopted new regulations stemming from legislation passed in 2024, allowing police officers in California to issue traffic tickets to driverless cars. The autonomous vehicles would also be required to move out of the way of first responders during an emergency and respond to their calls within 30 seconds through a dedicated phone line. The tightened restrictions come as the DMV approves testing of driverless semi-trucks in California.
Last year, several Waymo vehicles blocked intersections and clogged San Francisco streets during a power outage. Also in the Bay Area, in September a robotaxi was pulled over by San Bruno police after it was seen making an illegal U-turn.
RELATED: Driverless Waymo Robotaxis Coming Your Way
"AB 1777 is a direct response to issues experienced in San Francisco. In San Francisco, incidents include disrupting traffic, rolling over, then dragging a pedestrian, impeding firefighting response at multiple scenes and driving into crime scenes," Assemblyman Phil Ting, who authored the law, said in 2024.
Assembly Bill 1777 included the ability to allow law enforcement agencies to issue "noncompliance" reports, also known as tickets, to the DMV, which advocates said would address leaders' regulatory concerns.
Previously, tickets could only be issued to a "driver" if the vehicle violated traffic laws. California police can now issue a "notice of noncompliance" to the vehicle's manufacturer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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