San Francisco motorists were met with an unusual roadblock Tuesday night when a fleet of autonomous Waymo taxis took a wrong turn onto a closed ramp, causing a traffic snarl on a Highway 101 on-ramp. A Reddit user captured the debacle on video as confused drivers navigated around the stationary robotaxis after some civilians stepped in to move construction cones and signs to clear a path. "After sitting in the car waiting for several minutes, a couple of people came out and started moving traffic cones and a construction sign to allow traffic to pass through," the Reddit poster said.

Waymo, owned by tech giant Alphabet, confirmed to The Standard that six of its vehicles were involved in the incident. The hiccup occurred as a robotaxi was making its way back to the San Francisco depot around 9:30 p.m., only to be followed by other Waymo vehicles and commuter traffic into the restricted zone. "The Waymo driver pulled over to a safe location, out of the traffic lane, in an area blocked by cones," said a Waymo spokesperson. The autonomous cars, which are not approved to operate on Bay Area freeways without a human aboard fully, could not reroute and thus added to the trouble.

Within 30 minutes, Waymo's roadside assistance team rectified the traffic issue. Despite the quick resolution, the event raised concern amongst the public regarding the integration of autonomous vehicles in high-density traffic areas. As recently as this incident, automated taxis have been criticized for situations where they block traffic flows or create standstills, evidenced by a series of reports from cities where Waymo is active, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas.

The snag on the 101 adds to the debate over autonomous vehicle reliability and the readiness of robotaxi services to handle urban transportation demands. According to a Washington Times article, Waymo is seeking to gradually introduce automated taxi services on freeways in other states before approaching the unique challenges presented by California highways. Notably, safety officials highlight the inability to communicate with the uncrewed vehicles during incidents swiftly or to issue citations, a problem not yet fully tackled by current technology.