Proponents of autonomous vehicles contend that the driverless technology is safer when it travels down the road.
Even if that is true, what about when that driverless vehicle isn’t traveling?
Multiple media outlets, including Axios and Fox News, reported that a Waymo robotaxi blocked emergency personnel who were responding to a mass shooting on Sunday, March 1, in Austin, Texas.
According to reports, three people were killed, and more than a dozen people were injured when a shooting occurred outside an Austin bar about 2 a.m. on Sunday.
Footage shows a Waymo vehicle stopped horizontally in the middle of the road, temporarily blocking emergency responders from reaching the scene. Shortly after, an Austin police officer arrived and moved the Waymo vehicle.
A Waymo vehicle blocked traffic and temporarily prevented emergency vehicles from accessing the scene of an overnight shooting at a popular bar in Austin, Texas that left at least two people killed and 14 people injured on Sunday. The gunman was also killed, police said.
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— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 1, 2026
Waymo did not immediately respond to Land Line’s request for a response to the incident.
Cooper Lohr, a senior policy analyst for transportation and safety at Consumer Reports, said driverless vehicles should be removed from roadways until they can demonstrate they operate safely.
“If Waymo or any other company is going to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads, they should at least have to prove that their cars can follow the law and stay out of the way of emergency responders,” Lohr said. “This concern is not new; San Francisco has dealt with it repeatedly. Blocking an ambulance during any emergency scenario, and especially during a mass-casualty response, is an unacceptable operational failure that could lead to additional lives lost. If Waymo or another company’s autonomous driving system can’t handle flashing lights and sirens in a crisis, it isn’t ready for public roads, and it should be removed from service until the company proves it will handle the situation appropriately.”
Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, mentioned some of the San Francisco incidents, which included police officers and firefighters being blocked by driverless vehicles, during a House hearing in 2023.
“I think we absolutely need prudence when discussing autonomous vehicles of any level,” Chase said. “The biggest example we have so far is San Francisco, and it’s not going so well, to say the least. It’s a problem. We can’t just stick our head in the sand and pretend these problems don’t exist.” LL
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