Self-driving Waymo stops in the middle of traffic in viral video

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A Waymo self-driving car caused a brief traffic jam in San Francisco when it stopped in an intersection and wouldn’t move, blocking a trolley, as captured in a popular TikTok video.

Waymo began offering self-driving ride-hailing services in San Francisco in 2022. In August 2023, they started providing completely driverless rides to the public.

Since then, the city has seen several problems with self-driving cars causing traffic issues. These incidents include cars stopping in intersections or blocking emergency vehicles.

A recently surfaced video shows a self-driving Waymo car stopped on train tracks, with a trolley unable to pass behind it. The people inside the car had to contact Waymo’s help team to report the problem.

Waymo stops on tracks with trolley waiting behind

One passenger told a Waymo support agent that the vehicle was blocking a train. The agent said the issue would be reported to a Waymo team who can send instructions to the car, even though it’s still driving itself.

As the support agent worked to move the car, the trolley operator stepped off the train and attempted to signal it to stop.

A video posted by ‘miajajah’ in early November has become incredibly popular, reaching over 5.4 million views.

Over the past month, this isn’t the only Waymo incident that’s gained attention online. On October 16th, a 23-year-old software engineer named Riley Walz blocked a San Francisco street by summoning fifty of Waymo’s driverless cars.

A video that quickly spread on TikTok on October 29th showed a Waymo self-driving taxi running a red light. Just two days later, Waymo’s CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, suggested people would eventually “accept” the possibility of a driverless taxi causing a fatal accident.

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2025-11-04 20:49