If you’ve ever sat white-knuckled in the passenger seat while someone else drove, imagine that feeling… Except the “driver” is software, there’s no one to yell at, and the steering wheel is spinning all by itself.
That’s exactly what a group of Waymo riders in Phoenix recently lived through, and one of them had the presence of mind to film the whole ordeal rather than simply perish from anxiety.
The clip, posted to TikTok by user @jojojojojosie, shows the inside of a Waymo Jaguar I-PACE attempting an unprotected left turn across what appears to be a wide, six-lane arterial road — no traffic light, no mercy. The autonomous vehicle does what any vehicle with questionable judgment might do: it inches slowly, painfully, existentially into oncoming traffic and stops. Just… stops. Right there. In the road. While other drivers hit their brakes.
The passengers, for their part, handled it about as gracefully as any of us would. The commentary escalated from “Oh god, it’s inching out” to full screaming by the time Waymo finally committed to crossing. One rider summed it up best in real time: “Oh my god, oh my god.”
The TikTok has since racked up over 2.2 million views, and the original poster gave the experience a diplomatic “0/10” in her caption.
@jojojojojosie @Waymo so this was not good 0/10 almost 💀 AND the seats were sticky when we got in #waymo #fyp #driverlesscar #autonomousvehicle #phoenix ♬ original sound – Jojojojojo
The Hardest Turn in Driving (For Humans and Robots)
Here’s the thing: unprotected left turns are genuinely brutal. They’re the kind of maneuver that trips up new drivers, stresses out seasoned ones, and has led some people to swear by the “only turn right” life philosophy (looking at you, every delivery driver ever). The challenge for autonomous vehicles is that these turns require reading the room — making split-second judgments based on the speed, intention, and body language of other drivers. Human drivers flash headlights, make eye contact, nudge forward as a signal. Robots, for now, can’t quite do that dance.
Several commenters in the replies pointed out that the intersection itself might deserve some blame. “A left turn shouldn’t even be allowed here,” one viewer wrote, suggesting that the road design set up both humans and robots to fail. It’s a fair point: a six-lane road with no signal controlling left turns is the kind of infrastructure decision that makes traffic engineers quietly weep.
Waymo’s Response (And a Refund)
To their credit, Waymo reached out directly to the rider and issued a refund, with their support team acknowledging that this wasn’t the experience they aimed to provide. The company is reportedly looking into the incident.
It isn’t the first time Waymo’s Phoenix operations have attracted attention. The company issued a software recall late last year after its vehicles were caught passing stopped school buses, which, in the hierarchy of bad robot behavior, ranks pretty high. Federal investigators have also looked into 22 separate incidents involving Waymo vehicles, 17 of which involved crashes.
That said, Waymo does point to its own safety research: a study comparing over 7 million miles of driverless operation to human driving benchmarks found injury-causing crashes were about 80% less frequent in Waymo vehicles. So statistically, your odds are probably fine. Tell that to your adrenal glands, though.
The Internet Has Puns, but It’s Serious
The comment section became a graveyard of Waymo wordplay almost immediately. “This gonna cause waymo accidents” set the tone early. “Waymo needs waymo patience” followed. “Waymo? More like Hellno” earned its flowers.
One commenter offered genuine empathy for the robot: “I think everyone screaming and freaking out is making the driver nervous.” Honestly, understandable.
Waymo currently operates its driverless ride-hail service across 10 U.S. cities and has plans to expand to over 20 by the end of 2026. That’s a lot of intersections, and presumably a lot of left turns. Waymo has found itself at the center of numerous controversies, including an entire city demanding a meeting with the company. Some situations aren’t too serious, but robots and AI are under a lot of scrutiny.
For now, if you find yourself in a Waymo approaching a wide, uncontrolled, multi-lane left turn with no light, maybe consider getting out and walking. You’ve earned it.