Waymo explains why its robotaxis got stuck during the SF blackout

Waymo experienced significant delays with its robotaxis during a widespread power outage in San Francisco, as many vehicles became stuck at intersections with disabled traffic lights. The company explained that its self-driving system treats non-functioning stoplights as four-way stops, mirroring human driving behavior. However, the vehicles frequently requested “confirmation checks” from Waymo’s fleet response team to verify their actions, a safety feature designed for smaller outages. The surge in these requests during the large-scale blackout caused congestion and delays, as documented in viral videos. In response, Waymo is rolling out a software update to enhance the robotaxis’ ability to navigate disabled traffic lights more decisively by incorporating specific regional power outage context into their decision-making. The update aims to reduce reliance on confirmation checks and improve emergency response protocols based on lessons learned from the event. Despite the challenges, Waymo noted that its fleet successfully navigated over 7,000 dark signals during the outage, highlighting the complexity of deploying autonomous vehicles in unpredictable real