An empty Waymo robotaxi found itself nose-to-nose with a fire truck trying to reach an Austin hotel Monday, turning a false fire alarm into an awkward test of how a driverless car handles an emergency vehicle in its path.
Hotel guest David Munoz recorded the encounter on Sept. 14. He told Storyful that the Waymo had been dropping off a passenger when the fire truck arrived in response to an alarm at the hotel.
In the footage, the fire truck backs up in the driveway while the Waymo edges forward rather than immediately clearing the route. Munoz said the alarm turned out to be false and no one was hurt.
Waymo later told Storyful that its vehicle encountered the fire truck as it was leaving after completing a trip. The company said the Waymo paused briefly, then backed up and allowed the fire truck to pass.
A Tight Squeeze
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Munoz said he found the standoff funny because the Waymo appeared unable to determine that the arriving fire truck needed access to the hotel. The clip shows the two vehicles making a series of small movements before the Waymo finally backs away.
Waymo said the fire truck left the parking lot shortly after the maneuver. In its statement to Storyful, the company said operating in Austin and across Texas carries a responsibility it takes seriously and that it continues working with public-safety partners.
A Familiar Problem
The Austin encounter lands only months after city officials publicly examined other clashes between autonomous vehicles and emergency responders.
On April 29, Austin’s Public Safety and Mobility committees held a joint meeting focused on autonomous vehicles and first responders. One briefing covered two Waymo interactions during the response to the March 1 mass shooting on West Sixth Street.
In the city’s meeting transcript, Austin-Travis County EMS Commander Roger Patterson described a Waymo that stopped about a block and a half from the shooting scene after the call had been upgraded to an active attack. The city had asked autonomous-vehicle companies to geofence the area.
Officials also discussed another incident in which a Waymo froze amid foot traffic and contributed to backed-up traffic. The transcript says an officer first tried hand signals, then approached the vehicle after it did not comply. City staff said connecting with remote assistance could sometimes take as long as three minutes.