Waymo Car Stops on Train Tracks; Passenger Escapes

A Waymo self-driving car in Phoenix caused a scare when it stopped on light rail tracks, forcing a passenger to jump out just before an oncoming train approached.

The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, was captured on video by a bystander. After the passenger exited, the car continued along the tracks near another train.

Andrew Maynard, a professor of emerging and transformative technology at Arizona State University, commented on the situation, stating, "I actually felt a little sorry for the car. It obviously made a bad decision and got itself in a difficult place." He explained that such incidents, while rare, do happen and are considered "edge cases" where machines behave unexpectedly.

The area where the incident occurred had recent construction, and the light rail was added within the last year, which may have contributed to the confusion. Despite the incident, Maynard believes self-driving cars are generally safer than human drivers due to the lack of distractions.

A Valley Metro spokesperson said an employee quickly notified the operations control center when the Waymo vehicle was spotted. Light rail operations staff responded promptly, and Waymo was contacted to address the situation. The incident caused no significant delays, and the scene was cleared within 15 minutes.