A trooper stopped a self-driving Waymo vehicle in Phoenix after it ran a red light and entered the opposite lane, according to dispatch records.
The incident occurred on June 19, but local media, including The Arizona Republic, released bodycam footage of the traffic stop this week, showing the vehicle weaving through traffic before eventually pulling into a parking lot. The footage also shows officers approaching the empty car.
According to the Arizona Republic, dispatch records (written in all caps) show the vehicle “became panicked” and officers were ultimately “unable to issue the citation to the computer.”
A Waymo spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch that the vehicle “encountered inconsistent construction signage” and “momentarily crossed into the opposite lane, which was unoccupied,” staying in that lane for approximately 30 seconds before being unable to return to the correct lane.
“The entire incident lasted about a minute and there were no passengers in the vehicle,” the spokesperson said.
The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company has voluntarily recalled its software twice this year after crashes, and the safety of the software is also being investigated by federal regulators.
