Waymo Bumps Into Firetruck

With over one million driverless and paid rides per month, it is not surprising that Waymo Robotaxis occasionally get into trouble. In the most recent case, a Waymo hit a fire engine in San Francisco. It’s not entirely clear from the video whether the Waymo or the fire truck was at fault.

Before a robotaxi fleet is allowed to start driverless operation, emergency crews have to be trained. How do the vehicles behave during an operation with blue lights, how do the emergency services ensure that a robotaxi does not drive into the scene of an operation, how can they get in touch with the operations center? Waymo also provides documents that emergency services can use for training.

In this case, for example, the firefighters could get into the Waymo in the driver’s seat, take manual control and drive the vehicle away. However, the firefighters are currently instructed not to do this for insurance reasons.

This article was also published in German.