Waymo vehicle struggles to navigate flooded Phoenix street
The autonomous vehicle was seen moving back and forth while trying to get past the flooded street. (Credit: Roger Pelkey via Storyful)
A Waymo vehicle struggled to navigate a flooded street in Phoenix this month, becoming stuck for more than 10 minutes in an "AI loop," according to witnesses.
The car was filmed as it hesitantly moved back and forth, at one point almost backing into another car.
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A Waymo vehicle gets stuck on a flooded Phoenix street as it became stuck in an "AI loop," one witness said. (Roger Pelkey via Storyful / Storyful)
"There were actually two Waymos holding up traffic," said Roger Pelkey, who captured the incident on video. "The one further up finally made it through. This one was stuck in an AI loop and frustrating drivers."
The video shows the vehicle continually moving slightly forward before backing up, as other vehicles with human drivers went around.
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A Waymo vehicle seen on a flooded street while trying to navigate the floodwaters. (Roger Pelkey via Storyful / Storyful)
In May, Waymo suspended its driverless taxi operations across multiple cities — including Atlanta, San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas — due to repeated incidents involving floodwaters.
The vehicles encountered severe weather and drove into submerged streets, with some becoming stranded or stuck in floodwaters.
Earlier this month, the company brought its driverless robotaxi service to Denver, San Diego and Tampa, expanding its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to 14 cities.
FILE - Person's hand holding an iPhone with the Waymo One app, hailing a Waymo self driving car, which is seen driving up to the curb as text reading 'Almost at Pickup' appears in the app, San Francisco, California, March 18, 2025. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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