Dizzying Ride: Driverless Taxi Passenger Almost Misses Flight as Cab Gets Stuck in Loops | Science, Climate & Tech News
A “dizzy” robotaxi passenger nearly missed his flight after his cab began driving in circles.
Mike Johns was trying to catch a flight from an Arizona airport when he hailed a Waymo driverless taxi last month.
However, his journey quickly took a wrong turn, putting him at risk of missing his flight.
“I get in, buckle up (safety first) and the saga begins,” the tech entrepreneur shared on LinkedIn.
According to Mr. Johns, the car seemed to get confused and began driving in loops around a parking lot, completing eight circuits.
In a video he recorded during the incident, he reached out to customer service, only to find they were unable to remotely stop the vehicle.
“I’ve got a flight to catch, why is this thing driving in circles? I’m getting dizzy!” he exclaimed to the customer services representative.
“I’m really, really sorry, Mike,” the agent responded.
The video captures the taxi’s steering wheel spinning as the car repeatedly navigates a confined section of the parking lot.
“Why did this happen to me on a Monday?” Mr. Johns lamented in the video.
The customer service agent instructed Mr. Johns to try stopping the car via his Waymo app, as she lacked the capability to control it remotely.
While it is unclear from the video how the issue was ultimately resolved, Mr. Johns did manage to arrive at the airport in time for his flight.
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Waymo informed Sky News’ partner NBC News that Mr. Johns was not charged for his trip.
The looping issue that caused the vehicle’s erratic behavior has since been addressed with a routine software update, according to Waymo.
Waymo’s fleet of driverless taxis has expanded across the US, originating from a Google lab. They are currently operational in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Austin.
The company claims its taxis are engineered to enhance road safety, reporting a 78% reduction in injury-causing accidents compared to human-operated vehicles.
To date, these taxis have accumulated over 33 million miles of driverless journeys and have made headlines in the process.
In August, the taxis gained notoriety after frustrated residents set up a livestream to track their incessant honking in a parking lot.
“It’s incredibly distracting during the workday, but more importantly, it’s waking me up at four in the morning,” lamented one resident living adjacent to the lot.
At that time, Waymo confirmed to Sky News that the honking issue had been resolved after several weeks of complaints from residents who were losing sleep.
“We’ve updated the software, so our electric vehicles should minimize noise for our neighbors moving forward,” they stated.
