Freeway access is gone. For now, at least.
Waymo has suspended its robotaxi service on US highways. Safety concerns are the driver. Specifically, software needs tuning. The company admits it struggles with construction zones and, oddly enough, flooded roads. High stakes. High speed.
It feels counterintuitive, really. Freeways should be easier. Fewer pedestrians. No complex intersections. But velocity introduces new variables. Things move faster than an algorithm might expect.
The pause hits four major cities. San Francisco. Los Angeles. Phoenix. Miami. Local street rides? Still on. Just no merging into the fast lanes.
A statement to Reuters calls it “temporary.” They promise technical learnings will get integrated. Routes should reopen soon. The messaging is polite, neighborly almost.
“We know riders count on us… and we appreciate their patience.”
Nice words. But the context is rough.
Water is the enemy
Atlanta got the axe too. A robotaxi sat in flood water Wednesday. That wasn’t the only incident. Earlier this month, a defect sent nearly 3,800 cars into flooded roads. That triggered a massive recall.
Why do autonomous vehicles hate puddles?
The software apparently gets confused. Or brave. Sometimes both.
This hesitation happens right as Waymo tries to scale up. They’re aggressive. They want London by September. They’re eyeing global dominance over Tesla and Zoox. Those rivals aren’t anywhere near this mileage. Not yet.
Waymo boasts 170 million self-driving miles. Their collision rate? Thirteen times lower than humans. They claim the safety record.
But the record isn’t pristine.
In 2025 alone, over 1,200 cars were recalled for minor crash-causing bugs. Earlier this year? A child was hit outside a Santa Monica school. A cat was run over in SF. Public scrutiny was fierce.
Now, operations are paused again in Texas. Tennessee. Georgia. Each time to patch software.
The hardware keeps changing. They started with Chrysler minivans. Then came Jaguars. Now they’re testing Zeekr minivans and rolling out Hyundai IONIQ 5s. New metal, old problems?
Half a million trips a week is a lot. They want a million by 2026. That ambition requires confidence. Confidence requires no floods.
The freeway gates are closed. The streets remain open. But for how long before the next glitch stops us all?
