A woman was stuck in a self-driving Waymo vehicle that was stopped by two men who harassed her, asked for her number, and prevented the car from moving forward by standing in its way.
In a video she posted to X, Amina—who was trying to get to a hair appointment in San Francisco—recorded a man standing in front of the autonomous Waymo vehicle while she sat in the passenger seat. She yelled at him to move out of the way so the car could continue, but he and another man kept blocking the car’s path, preventing it from going anywhere.
🚨Warning to women in SF 🚨
— Amina V. (@Amina_io) September 30, 2024
I love Waymo but this was scary 😣
2 men stopped in front of my car and demanded that I give my number.
It left me stuck as the car was stalled in the street.
Thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes...
Ladies please be aware of this pic.twitter.com/6VEqb1WoJb
“The car was stopped at a red light and the first man came over and stood in front of the car. This caused the car to stop and refuse to move with a message on its screen that said something along the lines of ‘We will help you shortly,’” Amina told me in a direct message.
One of the men repeatedly made a “call me” gesture with his hand, then took his fedora off and literally tipped it at her, while she told them to get out of the way.
“The men came over to the car again and stood in front of it for a few minutes. Finally when they left, the car was still stalled but I clicked the ‘in car support’ on the screen and they seemed to be aware of the issue,” Amina said. “They asked if I was OK and the car began to drive towards my location. They asked if I needed police support and I said no.”
When she was almost to her destination, Waymo support called her again to ask if she was ok, she said. “I assured him that I was fine and he told me I would be given a free ride after,” she said. “After many hours I was called one last time by their support team. They asked if I was OK and told me that they have 24/7 support available. They also said I would get the next ride or next two rides (uncertain) free.”
"In an instance like this, our riders have 24/7 access to Rider Support agents who will help them navigate the situation in real time and coordinate closely with law enforcement officers to provide further assistance as needed," a spokesperson for Waymo told 404 Media in an email. "While these sorts of events are exceedingly rare among the 100,000 trips we serve a week across Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, we take them very seriously. We continuously look for ways to improve rider experience and remain committed to improving road safety and mobility in the cities where we operate."
Waymo launched for anyone in San Francisco to use in June, but has been testing in the city since 2021. Waymo One, the company’s public, fully autonomous ride-hailing service, is currently operating in Metro Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles, according to the company’s website, with plans to expand in Austin and Atlanta.
As more Waymo cars hit the streets, more people are reporting issues as riders and pedestrians, including people outside of the car kicking or standing on top of the vehicles.
The autonomous vehicles are supposed to stop for pedestrians, but many people have reported close calls. In June, NBC News interviewed 30 crossing guards at more than 20 schools in San Francisco, and one in four said they had a “close call” in the crosswalk with a Waymo driverless car, “where either the vehicle suddenly hit the brakes to prevent a collision, or the crossing guard rushed out of the way to avoid being hit.”
Despite this interaction, Amina posted that she would still consider taking another Waymo in the future. “I love autonomous vehicles because, despite these issues, I think widespread adoption of this technology will be safer,” she told me. “I was in a pretty severe car accident as a child and have anxieties around driving due to it—I’ve been looking forward to this type of technology for a long time. With that said, I think the Human Factor in this issue is going to be a lot harder to solve than anything else.”
Updated 10/1 4:39 p.m. EST with comment from Waymo.
