Waymo has suspended its autonomous vehicle operations in Atlanta due to flooding, marking the second city in a fortnight where the company has halted services. Previously, service in San Antonio was also paused after a vehicle was swept away by floodwaters. In Atlanta, one of its robotaxis became stuck in deep water for approximately one hour.
The company is facing scrutiny following these incidents, as it had recently implemented a software update intended to prevent vehicles from entering hazardous conditions. Despite this, the robotaxi in Atlanta encountered a flooded road during a severe storm before any official weather alerts could be issued. Waymo is actively working on enhancing its software to better manage challenging environmental conditions.
Fortunately, no injuries have been reported from these flooding events. However, concerns about the reliability of Waymo's autonomous technology have been heightened, especially following an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into previous incidents involving the company’s vehicles.