Waymo pauses Atlanta service as its robotaxis keep driving into floods
TechCrunch • • nation
Key Points:
- Waymo has paused its robotaxi services in Atlanta, Georgia, and San Antonio, Texas, due to difficulties navigating heavy rain and flooded roads, following a recent incident where a vehicle got stuck in floodwaters for about an hour.
- The company had issued a software recall last week to impose restrictions on driving in areas with elevated flood risk but admitted it had not finalized a solution to avoid flooded roads entirely.
- The flooding in Atlanta occurred before official flash flood warnings were issued, complicating Waymo's reliance on National Weather Service alerts to prepare its vehicles for adverse weather conditions.
- Waymo is currently under investigation by the NHTSA and NTSB for issues including illegal maneuvers around school buses and a January crash involving a child in Santa Monica, California, with ongoing document requests and scrutiny.
- Despite previous software updates intended to fix problematic behavior, Waymo's robotaxis have continued to exhibit safety challenges, highlighting difficulties in fully resolving autonomous driving issues in complex environments.