The latest Waymo dustup is a Saturday incident where two Waymos appear to have collided with one another, resulting in three Waymos just stopping in place, and blocking a dead-end street so residents could not drive out.  

There have certainly been some bumps for the self-driving robotaxis of Waymo in recent weeks. In late October, a Waymo ran over and killed a beloved bodega cat. Then last week in the Western Addition, a Waymo ran over and killed a dog. Top that off with an incident in Los Angeles that came to light last week where a Waymo drove through an active crime scene during a police standoff, apparently not realizing what the flashing police sirens are for.    

Then Saturday in San Francisco we saw another Waymo glitch that the Waymo haters are likely to have a field day with. KGO reports that two Waymos appear to have collided with one another on a dead-end street, and then three Waymos created a traffic jam “standoff” that blocked residents from being able to drive off that street.  

@chii_rinna Not the Waymo Standoff in San Francisco #waymo#ai #sanfrancisco #selfdrivingcar #rideshare ♬ original sound - chii_rinna

“The Waymos are causing a traffic jam," bemused TikTok user chii_rinna says while recording the video above. A resident of the street adds, “I just pulled out of the garage and I saw this going on, it’s like this Waymo standoff. I’m just trying to get out of here, but….”

And then that resident’s voice trails off in resignation. Meanwhile, a third Waymo also halts in place just feet away, fortifying the Waymo-created traffic barricade.

KGO reports that the street in question is a one-way street, so the three-Waymo logjam did indeed keep residents from being able to drive off that street for an undetermined amount of time.

But our two human characters in the video continue to examine the scene, and make a surprising discovery. “They hit each other!” the woman filming the video declares. This does appear to be the case, though it is not proven that the two Waymos collided. But the two vehicles are touching one another, though the impact of any crash seems it would have been minimal.  

The frustrated street resident wonders aloud, “Are they just going to, like, stay there forever?” as the three Waymos become completely bricked, simply flashing their lights and singing their robot siren song. The two people then seem to find a QR code on the vehicles to alert Waymo to the mess.

@chii_rinna Replying to @Fedorblt ♬ original sound - chii_rinna

We get our denouement in a second video posted by chii_rinna.  At least one Waymo staffer looks to be on the scene (though it’s unclear if the person wearing the vest is maybe an SFMTA official). One of the Waymos actually broadcasts aloud an audio snippet saying, “I can’t move at the moment, but help is on the way.”

It is unclear how long this “help” took to be on the way, as Waymo has not commented publicly on the matter. But the street does appear to at least start clearing out by the end of that second video.

Related: Newly Released Video Shows Moment Bodega Cat Was Killed on 16th Street [SFist]

Image: chii_rinna via TikTok