Widespread power outages in the United States caused heavy traffic
According to The Guardian, a widespread power outage in San Francisco on Saturday night plunged large parts of the city into darkness, causing Waymo’s self-driving taxis to suddenly stop in the middle of streets and intersections, disrupting urban traffic.
As electricity was cut off across wide areas of the city, traffic lights also went out, preventing autonomous vehicles from operating normally.
Images and videos shared by users on the social media platform X showed Waymo’s robotic taxis stranded in place, creating traffic congestion and dangerous conditions for other drivers.
After the videos spread online, Waymo confirmed that it had suspended its driverless ride-hailing service across San Francisco on Saturday night.
Susan Philion, a Waymo spokesperson, said in a statement to several media outlets: “Due to a widespread power outage, our fully autonomous ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area have been temporarily paused. Our teams are actively working in close coordination with city officials, and we hope to resume service soon.”
According to Pacific Gas and Electric, intermittent power outages throughout the day affected about 130,000 homes and businesses. By Saturday evening, around 30 percent of the company’s customers in San Francisco were without power.
In a video posted on social media, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie urged residents to “please avoid traveling on the streets and stay at home,” citing nonfunctional traffic signals. He added that police officers had been deployed to major intersections and heavily trafficked routes.
The report noted that many autonomous vehicles rely on urban communication systems such as live online maps, traffic data, and networked environmental sensors, all of which can be disrupted by power outages./TASNIM
