Just imagine going on your way to catch a flight, and here you are, stuck in some loop within a parking lot. That is just what happened when an Arizona resident, Mike Johns, found his Waymo self-driving car malfunctioning and circling in frustration while precious minutes ticked away.
The weird incident happened in Scottsdale on December 9, 2024, as Johns was going to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Since he recorded his experience and shared it online, the video has gone viral with over two million views, stirring quite an argument about how reliable autonomous vehicles are.
“I’m in a Waymo car… and this car is just going in circles.”
Johns described the surreal ordeal in a video. The self-driving car was supposed to ferry him to the airport smoothly, but instead, it began looping through a parking lot. What at first seemed like a weird detour quickly became a maddening merry-go-round.
Trapped, Johns tried to open the car’s door and exit but found his seatbelt securely fastened with the doors locked.
“By the fourth loop, I was starting to feel dizzy,” he recalled.
Johns immediately contacted Waymo customer support, hoping that this would be fixed as soon as possible. The customer support representative explained that there was a routing problem with the vehicle and that it couldn’t directly take control to stop it. Instead, he should try using the Waymo app to troubleshoot the problem.
It finally straightened out after about eight loops around the lot. Happily, Johns arrived at the airport in time to catch his flight. But afterward, he said, the support team at Waymo showed a lack of empathy; their response added to his stress.
Following the incident, Waymo issued a statement that blamed a software glitch for the problem. It confirmed a software update fixed the problem and reassured users that such glitches hardly occur. Though Johns got his money back, it had left him in doubt about self-driving technology.
A viral video of Johns’s looping adventure struck a chord online, where many viewers shared amazement, concern, and skepticism. For some, the incident was less serious, but others saw serious questions about the safety and preparedness of autonomous cars.
“I’m a fan of novelty, but here it gave me second thoughts,” said Johns. “Technology is interesting, but it needs to be foolproof before we depend on it for something as vital as transportation.”
This isn’t the first time Waymo’s technology is being questioned. It is one of the leaders when it comes to developing software for autonomous driving, and more than once, its algorithms have shown several mistakes-for instance, problems in navigating the roads designed without following the usual pattern a driver would follow.
Complicated procedures can be problematic, like the ability to handle left turns and the possibility of merging onto a freeway. Waymo constantly updates this software to avoid many current mishaps, but situations like Johns keep proving that such mistakes can, and still do, occur.
As incidents with self-driving cars increase, incidents like this show the dire need for robust troubleshooting systems and better customer support. These systems are still evolving, even as autonomous technology promises safer and more efficient roads.
For now, Mike Johns will stick to traditional rideshare services. His advice for others?
“If you’re in a rush to catch a flight, maybe don’t leave it to a robot just yet.”
