Mike Johns, a tech entrepreneur and CEO of Digital Mind State, never imagined his trip to Los Angeles airport would turn into a bizarre, never-ending loop. Riding in a Waymo robotaxi, built to be the future of urban transportation, he found himself stuck in an unsettling paradox: a self-driving car that couldn’t get him to his destination.
This December incident sparked a wave of debate about the real-world limitations of autonomous vehicles and the support—or lack thereof—provided by the companies behind them. Johns, returning from a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, posted a video of the whole ordeal on his LinkedIn, quickly catching the media’s eye and raising serious questions about the safety and reliability of these cars.
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The Incident: A Closer Look
Instead of taking him to the airport parking lot as planned, the robotaxi just kept driving in circles—eight times, to be exact—without offering any explanation. Johns, feeling both frustrated and bewildered, immediately contacted Waymo’s customer service for help. “It honestly felt like something out of a sci-fi movie,” he shared in the video. “I was trapped in the car, seatbelt fastened, and couldn’t get out. For a moment, I even wondered if the system had been hacked or if this was all some sort of joke.”
The customer service agent, trying to troubleshoot remotely, couldn’t fix the issue on the spot. Meanwhile, the car carried on its repetitive loop. It wasn’t until Johns followed a set of troubleshooting steps through the Waymo app that he was finally able to reset the route and get the car moving in the right direction.
A Bigger Issue: More Than Just One Incident
While Waymo claims that such incidents are rare, other malfunction reports have surfaced involving their robotaxis. Just days earlier in December, another Waymo vehicle was reported stuck in a roundabout with no passengers inside. These isolated events highlight the real-world challenges that autonomous vehicles face in complex urban environments.
In yet another reported incident, a man entered a Waymo robotaxi in Los Angeles and attempted to move from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat. This triggered an automatic response from Waymo’s support team, which eventually led to the involvement of local authorities.
The Entrepreneur’s Reaction: Frustration and Disillusionment
In his LinkedIn post, Johns didn’t hold back. He wasn’t just frustrated by the incident, but also by Waymo’s complete lack of follow-up. "You'd expect them to at least send a call or an apology email," he shared. "But no, everything was automated, no human touch at all."
Though the whole ordeal lasted less than seven minutes, it felt like a lifetime to Johns, especially as he panicked about missing his flight. In the end, he made it to the airport just in time. But that brief experience made him reconsider his trust in autonomous vehicles. For now, he’s sticking to the old reliable options—Uber and Lyft—for his future rides.
Waymo: The Road Ahead
Waymo, a frontrunner in autonomous vehicle technology, tried to downplay the incident, pointing out that the issue was resolved and that their robotaxis have completed millions of trips with very few issues. Still, incidents like Johns’ bring to light the growing pains of this emerging technology.
The company clarified that their support agents don’t have direct control over the vehicles but can offer guidance to passengers to help resolve issues. While this approach complies with safety regulations, it raises questions about whether it’s enough to effectively and quickly handle situations like the one Johns faced.
Glossary
- Autonomous Vehicle (Self-Driving Car): A vehicle capable of navigating and operating without human intervention, using sensors, cameras, and AI to understand its environment and make driving decisions.
- Waymo: A subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Waymo develops self-driving vehicle technology and operates a fleet of autonomous cars.
- Robotaxi: An autonomous vehicle designed to provide taxi services without a human driver, using self-driving technology to transport passengers.
- Software Glitch: A malfunction or bug in the software that causes a system to behave in unintended ways, often disrupting normal operations.
- Customer Service: The department or team within a company that assists customers by addressing their concerns, troubleshooting issues, and providing solutions.
- Passenger Support Agent: An individual or system that provides assistance to passengers, typically through remote communication or guidance in handling issues during a ride in an autonomous vehicle.
- App Troubleshooting: The process of diagnosing and resolving issues with a mobile application, often involving specific steps or instructions to correct malfunctions.
- Sensor: A device used in autonomous vehicles to detect and measure various environmental factors, such as objects, speed, and road conditions, to enable the vehicle to navigate safely.
- AI (Artificial Intelligence): The simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, including learning, problem-solving, and decision-making, used in autonomous vehicles for navigation and behavior prediction.
- Update: A new version of software that fixes bugs, improves performance, or adds new features, often used to resolve issues identified in a previous version.
- Self-Driving Technology: The combination of hardware (like sensors and cameras) and software (like AI algorithms) that allows a vehicle to drive itself without human input.
- Roundabout: A circular intersection where vehicles move in one direction around a central island, often used in areas with high traffic to improve flow and safety.
- Automated Response: A system or software response triggered automatically by specific actions or events, often without human intervention, such as when a robotaxi's support system detects an issue.
- Rideshare: A service that allows multiple passengers to share a vehicle for travel, typically provided through platforms like Uber or Lyft, where users can book rides via a smartphone app.
- Update Instructions: Step-by-step guidance or commands provided to users for applying software updates or fixing issues within a system or app.
- Urban Mobility: The movement of people and goods within a city, which is often impacted by the development of new transportation technologies, such as autonomous vehicles.
- Support Team: A group of professionals responsible for assisting users or customers with technical issues, often providing remote or on-site help for troubleshooting problems.
- Sociotechnical System: A system that involves both social and technical aspects, often referring to complex systems like autonomous vehicles where human, technological, and organizational elements must work together.
- Human-Machine Interaction (HMI): The interface and interaction between humans and machines, which is crucial in autonomous vehicles for communication, control, and user feedback.
