“When the Waymo gets stuck and there’s a decision to make…”
The rise of autonomous vehicles has not been without growing pains. Now a woman claims one of Google’s autonomous taxis ran a red light with her inside.
TikTok user @s.geeeee, an influencer with 269,000 followers, recorded herself riding in the front passenger seat of a Waymo.
“Whoever is driving my Waymo, you just ran a red light,” she says. Much of her content is satirical, but she seems to suggest that there is someone remotely operating her car—Waymos are actually autonomous.
“I know that my Waymo is being driven by someone real right now in Indonesia. Because I was just in three complicated situations. I take Waymos because I feel so much safer in them. But this is the first time that I’m in one that maybe my lawyer is gonna be coming out,” she says.
@s.geeeee clarifies that the car didn’t exactly speed through a red light. Rather, the Waymo did what she calls an “L.A. left turn.”
“So an L.A. left turn we all know that when it’s yellow that really means go. This one as we were approaching it was yellow. So I thought they were gonna stop. But they still kept on going. And then it was in the middle of the intersection, it turned red. And then went. Which I’m like, okay. I mean I would do that. I guess,” she says.
Continuing, @s.geeeee describes in greater detail why the taxi’s driving had her worried.
“It went in between two lanes. Cause there is like a weird intersection. It just went in between like to try to tuck itself so it doesn’t get hit by other cars I guess. It really confused everyone. And then it also made the most sharp sudden right turn off of a busy street, into like a side street. I don’t know, Waymo.”
Given the satirical nature of @s.geeeee’s content, it’s likely her assertion that the vehicle was being remotely controlled was a joke.
Some took it seriously, however. One commented on her post, “Humans do not drive you. When the Waymo gets stuck and there’s a decision to make, someone will offer the Waymo instructions, but it is never driven by a human.”
But there are some who remain convinced the autonomous vehicles are controlled by actual humans.
The theory is so prevalent that Futurism addressed it. The outlet pointed to a blog by Ryan McNamara, who is Waymo’s vice president and global head of operations, in which he wrote, “Waymo’s service does not rely on remote drivers.” McNamara said that it does have remote assistance agents. “[They] respond to specific requests for information initiated by the Waymo driver—our automated driving system (ADS)—and provide advice which the system can decide to use or reject.”
According to Futurism, each remote employee is tasked with handling requests for approximately 40 vehicles.
The Last Driver License Holder also discussed rumors that Waymo has remote operators steering its vehicles. The piece delves into the distinction between teleoperation and remote assistance. It notes that there are car-driving services that can be remotely operated: Qibus, Vay, and Phantom Auto (which shut down in 2024).
The Last Driver License Holder notes that there are jurisdiction-specific rules and regulations autonomous driving services like Waymo must obey. For example, it says California law mandates “that the vehicles must be able to receive assistance from humans in an operations center who are capable of maneuvering the vehicle out of such situations.”
This isn’t the first time Waymo’s driving software has come under fire.
A video posted on YouTube showed in February shows a Waymo slowly driving towards a broken fire hydrant that spewing a tall stream of water into the street. The car stops right in front of the stream, its software seemingly unprepared for the situation.
ABC 7 posted a video of an Arizona passenger riding in a Waymo as it made a left turn across a busy intersection. An ABC 7 reported observes that the driverless taxi “narrowly misses other vehicles” in the clip.
While some, like @s.geeeee, may feel perfectly safe in a Waymo, others aren’t quite ready to let a computer drive them around.
One person who commented on her video wrote, “First mistake is feeling safe in a Waymo.”
Motor1 has reached out to Waymo via email and @s.geeeee via TikTok comment for further information. We’ll update this post if either replies.
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