On June 19th, a Phoenix police officer pulled over a Waymo vehicle that had been driving in an oncoming traffic lane. The car was apparently confused by some construction signs, and reportedly ran a red light before pulling over in a parking lot to let the officer talk to one of Waymo’s support representatives.
In about two-and-a-half minutes of bodycam footage published by local publication AZCentral, the officer told Waymo the car was driving in a construction zone when it “went into opposing lanes of traffic, which is real bad.” He then told a curious bystander what had happened, adding, “so I light it up and it takes off in the intersection.” A dispatch record reportedly said the car drove through a red light and ‘FREAKED OUT’ before it pulled over.
Waymo told multiple outlets that the vehicle drove into the oncoming lane because of “inconsistent construction signage,” and that it “was blocked from navigating back into the correct lane.” The company said the car drove away from the cop “in an effort to clear the intersection” before pulling into the parking lot where the traffic stop took place. The company reportedly said the stop lasted “approximately one minute.”
