Overview
- Footage from March 1 shows a Waymo vehicle in Austin briefly obstructing an ambulance responding to a mass shooting before an officer entered the car and moved it.
- Waymo said the car began a U‑turn to clear the route and a nearby officer assisted, while Austin‑Travis County EMS reported crews arrived within 57 seconds with no impact on patient outcomes.
- Legal and safety critics cited the episode to urge cities to slow autonomous‑vehicle rollouts, pointing to risks around first‑responder access.
- Reuters recently reported the NTSB is investigating earlier allegations that Waymo vehicles illegally passed stopped school buses, part of broader scrutiny following prior incidents.
- San Francisco emergency officials testified that responders have had to physically move immobilized Waymo cars during disruptions such as a December power outage, calling the reliance on first responders untenable.