Wacky Waymo Adventures: Robotaxis Gone Rogue

The people selling us on autonomous vehicles keep promising a future with fewer crashes, less traffic, and safer roads.

Instead, 2026 has felt a little more like watching your uncle try to assemble IKEA furniture after three margaritas.

Waymo, the driverless taxi company owned by Alphabet, has had a rough year so far, with a growing list of incidents that sound less like “the future of transportation” and more like rejected scenes from a comedy movie about confused robots. 

To be fair, Waymo says its vehicles are statistically safer overall than human drivers, and the company now gives roughly 500,000 paid rides every week. But when robotaxis make mistakes, people notice. Mostly because the cars are marketed as smarter than we are.

Here’s a look at some of Waymo’s most eyebrow-raising mishaps of 2026:

• Swept Away In Texas Floodwaters

This may be the current champion.

In April, an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi drove into floodwaters in San Antonio and was swept into a creek during severe storms. According to Reuters and regulatory filings, the vehicle detected the standing water, slowed down…and then continued anyway. Waymo has since recalled nearly 3,800 robotaxis nationwide for software updates related to flooded-road detection.

Apparently the robotaxi interpreted “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” as more of a friendly suggestion.

• Swarming An Atlanta Neighborhood 

Talk about a sight you don't expect to see outside your window. Dozens of driverless and passenger-less Waymo robotaxis circling your street. That's the scene encountered by residents in one Atlanta neighborhood on more than one occasion recently due to routing issues. Check out the video shown on NBC News. Waymo told NBC News it has "already worked with our partner to address this routing behavior".

• Blocking An Ambulance During A Mass Shooting

In March, a Waymo vehicle in Austin reportedly attempted a U-turn near the scene of a Sixth Street mass shooting and became stuck, blocking an ambulance responding to victims. According to reports and city officials, police eventually had to manually move the vehicle out of the way.

Because nothing screams “advanced mobility solution” quite like emergency responders arguing with a car that doesn’t have ears.

• Passing Stopped School Buses

Federal investigators continue looking into multiple incidents involving Waymo vehicles illegally passing school buses with flashing lights and stop arms extended in Austin. Reuters reported Austin ISD documented repeated violations even after earlier software recalls.

For generations, humans have somehow managed to understand one basic rule: when the big yellow bus says STOP, you stop.

Apparently artificial intelligence is still workshopping that concept.

• Child Struck Near Elementary School

In January, a Waymo vehicle hit a child near a Santa Monica elementary school during morning drop-off hours. Federal investigators with NHTSA opened a probe into the incident. According to Reuters, the child reportedly ran from behind a parked SUV, and the vehicle slowed significantly before impact. The child suffered minor injuries.

Waymo defended the vehicle’s performance, saying the car reacted faster than a human driver likely would have. Regulators are still reviewing the incident.

• Railroad Crossing Nightmare

A viral video in March showed a Waymo stopped between railroad crossing gates in Texas while a train approached nearby. Waymo later restricted some operating routes following the incident.

There are few things more unsettling than watching a driverless car freeze on train tracks while everyone nearby suddenly becomes a railroad safety expert.

• Wrong-Way School Zone Incident

In April, a Waymo vehicle was reportedly captured driving the wrong direction through a school zone in the San Antonio area, alarming parents nearby.

Nothing boosts confidence in robotaxis quite like seeing one drive the wrong way where children are present.

• Broadway Traffic Breakdown

Also, in San Antonio this spring, another Waymo reportedly became stranded in traffic on Broadway and had to be manually moved by police.

Which feels a little ironic for technology supposedly designed to eliminate the need for human intervention.

• Waymo Runs Red Light At Busy Intersection

In downtown Dallas earlier this month, a Waymo appeared confused and drove into a busy intersection to make a left turn against what was clearly a red light. This was caught on someone’s dash cam:

Watch the YouTube Video →

Now, before everybody starts dusting off their horse-and-buggy jokes, human drivers do dumb things every day. Humans text while driving, eat breakfast behind the wheel, miss stop signs, road rage, speed, and somehow still forget where they parked at Costco.

But here’s the difference.

When humans make mistakes, nobody calls it “revolutionary technology.”

My opinion: Waymo and the entire autonomous vehicle industry are selling the public on the idea that computers can outperform people in the real world. That’s a very high bar. And every time one of these robotaxis blocks an ambulance, ignores floodwater, or parks itself near railroad tracks, public confidence takes another hit.

Maybe driverless cars really are the future.

But judging by 2026 so far, the future still needs a software update.