Two rogue Waymo cars trapped a California driver in her car for an hour earlier this week, forcing her to call police for help — as the robotaxis have been yanked from freeways for safety testing.
Emily Offenkrantz said two Waymos cut her off and then refused to move, blocking her through multiple light cycles as traffic piled up behind her and panic set in.
“I just called 911 because I am stuck between two Waymos that are not moving,” Offenkrantz says in the video, which had the caption: “Didn’t expect to fight a Waymo today but here we are.”
“I don’t know what else to do because I have a line of cars behind me … I can’t move.”
Offenkrantz said she called 911 after sitting trapped behind the Waymos for nearly 50 minutes. According to her, the dispatcher said officers had already received complaints about the vehicles — leaving her wondering what police could even do.
“Is the officer going to argue with a ghost? There’s no one in the car,” she said.
It’s unclear whether the autonomous vehicles had passengers inside. Riders can contact company support for help navigating issues like this.
At one point, one of the robotaxis suddenly reversed, sending Offenkrantz into a panic — but also creating enough space for her to squeeze through.
She finally escaped after another driver guided her between the two confused robotaxis.
Still, concerns over the self-driving cars continue to mount.
The company recently halted its operations on the freeway in several U.S. markets due to concerns about performance issues in construction zones.
“Safety is Waymo’s top priority, both for our riders and everyone we share the road with,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business. “We have temporarily paused freeway operations, as we work to integrate recent technical learnings into our software and expect to resume these routes soon.”
The pause only affects freeway operations, the company said.
Many a Waymo has landed itself in traffic kerfuffles.
A Waymo drove a Los Angeles woman the wrong way through a drive-thru restaurant in April, causing a similar panic to Offenkrantz’s, except from within the vehicle.
“Way Way! You gotta go through the drive-thru the other way!” he can be heard shouting.
“My bad, bro, you can’t park here,” he joked as the vehicle rolled into position.