Despite Water Reports, Entered the Roadway… Waymo Robo-Taxi Faces Flooding Incident Again

Waymo, a self-driving subsidiary of Google, temporarily suspended its robo-taxi service in major U.S. cities due to failures in responding to flooded roads. Despite a software recall following a previous incident, the company again faced a flood-related accident. On July 23, Waymo halted operations in five U.S. cities including Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, and also suspended highway services in other locations. The incident followed a flood accident in Atlanta, where a Waymo vehicle entered a waterlogged road and stopped, though no passengers were on board. The accident occurred even after Waymo had recalled 3,791 vehicles due to flood response issues. In San Antonio last month, a robo-taxi slowed down but did not fully stop in a flooded area, eventually being swept into a river. According to NHTSA documents, Waymo’s system lacked a 'hard stop' feature to fully halt vehicles upon detecting flooded roads. Waymo acknowledged that a final solution was still under development. The Atlanta incident occurred before the National Weather Service issued a flood warning, indicating Waymo’s weather monitoring system also failed. Waymo stated it prioritizes safety and closely monitors weather forecasts and real-time conditions. This is Waymo’s third recall, following incidents involving collisions with tow trucks and fixed obstacles. The U.S. NHTSA is also conducting separate investigations, including into child collision incidents.