Driverless Car Chaos: Texas Woman Says Waymo Locked Her In

Austin, we have a problem—and it’s shaped like a robotaxi AKA Waymo AKA a self-driving car. *GASPS IN SPANISH*

If you’re not familiar with Waymo, let me fill you in. Waymo is kind of like an Uber or Lyft except there's no one driving the car! Seriously. 

Waymo is a driverless, share-ride car that feels like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie. Picture this: no driver up front, just you, your destination, soothing music, and a super smooth ride around the city.

Waymo’s sensors and AI take the wheel, navigating traffic and even picking the best routes 

Read More: Could Texas Be the Next State to Adopt Driverless Rideshare Cars? 

A Woman Got "Held Hostage" Inside a Waymo Robotaxi in Austin

Over the weekend, an Austin woman named Backy went viral on TikTok after she and a few friends were accidentally trapped inside a Waymo self-driving car. No driver. No escape plan. Like something out of Black Mirror!

When I saw this article I gasped because the same thing happened to me and my boyfriend on a trip in San Francisco. It was about 11 p.m. and the Waymo ride stopped in the middle of a busy street (that was thankfully not that busy at the time cause it was late at night) and we were locked in and had to call tech support!

But, back to Becky’s story. The Waymo ride was supposed to be a quick trip to a certain location, but the AI had other ideas. According to Becky, the car just stopped. On a busy merge lane. With cars flying past them and honking like crazy. And when they tried to get out? The Doors locked. “It would not move. It would not let us out,” she said. We’re talking full-on robot prison.

They called Waymo support, but the help was giving confused tech bro energy. “We don’t have a way to just physically move the cars,” a rep told them. 

Becky says it took 5 minutes, a lot of pleading, and the threat of going live on TikTok before the doors finally unlocked.

Waymo claims the passengers could’ve exited anytime by pulling the handle twice. 

This isn’t Waymo’s first oopsie. They’ve already gone rogue at a Chick-fil-A and spun in circles at an airport this year. At this point, maybe walking is safer?

Would you ever use a Waymo after reading this story?

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