SF Grills Waymo Over Stalled Robotaxis
San Francisco officials have grilled Waymo executives after multiple robotaxis stalled during a power outage in December. The hearing focused on the safety and reliability of the self-driving technology, particularly its ability to respond to emergencies and unforeseen city-wide events.
The December 20th power outage, which plunged about a third of San Francisco into darkness, was triggered by a fire at a PG&E substation. This event led to nearly 1,600 "stoppage events" for Waymo's driverless vehicles, as revealed by the company in a subsequent hearing at City Hall. The robotaxis are programmed to treat non-functioning traffic lights as four-way stops, but they also request a "confirmation check" from a remote human operator to ensure safety. During the widespread outage, a concentrated spike in these requests overwhelmed the 70 remote operators on duty, creating a backlog that left vehicles idling in streets and blocking traffic. Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who called for the hearing, stated that the stalled autonomous vehicles disrupted emergency responders trying to access the substation fire. In the hearing, Waymo's Public Policy Manager, Michael Magee, acknowledged the company's shortcomings, stating, "We acknowledge today, again, that we did not meet our standards during the outage." Initially, Waymo's lawyers had attempted to classify the number of stalled vehicles as a "trade secret" during an administrative rules proceeding before being compelled to release the data. In response to the incident, Waymo executives have apologized and stated they are implementing fleet-wide software updates. These updates are designed to give the vehicles more context during power outages, allowing them to navigate darkened intersections "more decisively" and with less reliance on human confirmation.
