Overview
- Waymo declined to attend Wednesday's joint City Council meeting on autonomous vehicle safety at Austin City Hall.
- At the meeting, first responders reviewed bystander video of a Waymo blocking an ambulance during the March 1 Sixth Street shooting, and a police officer manually drove the car out of the way after a few minutes.
- Police said the blockage did not significantly slow the emergency response, and officials described other hazards from self-driving cars such as ignoring hand signals, entering flooded streets, and crossing train barricades.
- Council Member Zo Qadri said the city has no written or verbal commitment from Waymo to carry out staff-recommended fixes for first-responder interactions.
- Waymo said it has privately briefed more than 15 city officials and top state leaders, outlined lessons learned, and plans procedure updates as Texas prepares to require state permits for driverless robotaxis next month.