Waymo Robotaxi Turns Passengers with Homemade Weapon Over to Police

In San Francisco, two passengers in a Waymo robotaxi were arrested in the middle of their ride — after the car itself pulled over and called the police. The detainees turned out to be minors, found with a loaded homemade AR-style weapon, a so-called “ghost gun”: a firearm assembled from individual parts with no serial number. The teenagers were taken to a juvenile detention center.

The police report did not specify who exactly was driving the vehicle, but Waymo later confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that it was one of its cars. According to a company spokesperson, the system registered a “firearm-related violation of the terms of use.” After that, the car pulled over onto the shoulder and reported the incident to the authorities.

Not the first case

This is not the first time a Waymo self-driving car has effectively “turned in” its own passengers. Earlier this year, one of the company's vehicles faked a technical malfunction in order to stop: at the time, two passengers were drinking alcohol and firing a toy gun out the rear window. In that story, Waymo also “reported” the minors.

The plot is shaping up almost into a cautionary tale: if a robotaxi suspects something is off, it can both play broken and dial the police directly. The takeaway for teenagers inclined toward dubious schemes is self-evident: the back seat of an autonomous car is not the best place for foolishness.

The case is curious not so much for its criminal element as for what it demonstrates: driverless transport is increasingly acting not as a passive carrier but as an observer that monitors behavior inside the cabin and, in certain situations, independently decides to turn to law enforcement.

Source: The Verge