‘It remains a connected vehicle’: what the Waymo teen incident reveals about robotaxis

Robotaxis may not have a driver behind the wheel, but a recent incident in San Mateo, California, is a reminder that they remain closely monitored, connected vehicles. A Waymo robotaxi pulled into a parking lot and contacted police after two 15-year-olds allegedly used the vehicle while drinking alcohol and shooting water guns filled with Orbeez from its windows.

The San Mateo Police Department shared a video of the incident on Facebook showing officers approaching the stopped vehicle, and wrote, “Parents do you know where your teens are? Waymo does!” Officers removed both teenagers from the vehicle and determined they had been using toy guns to shoot Orbeez, small water-absorbing beads, through the robotaxi’s windows.

Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service continues operating across multiple US cities as self-driving vehicles become more widely available, and the company states its vehicles carry internal cameras and microphones designed to support passenger safety and security. According to Waymo, it does not use facial recognition or biometric identification to identify passengers, though support staff can access live video “in more urgent circumstances.”

The exact sequence of events that led the vehicle to alert authorities in this case has not been disclosed, and Waymo had not responded to media requests for comment at the time reports were published. The incident nonetheless offers researchers and transport authorities a real-world example of how onboard sensors and monitoring systems can factor into unexpected safety situations.