Waymo Halts Operations in San Francisco After Power Outage Stops Autonomous Vehicles

Cars Stalled at Intersections, No Injuries Reported

During a citywide power failure on Monday evening, several Waymo self‑driving cars came to a sudden stop at busy intersections across San Francisco. The outage disabled traffic signals, leaving the autonomous vehicles without the usual guidance cues they rely on to navigate safely.

As a result, the cars queued up at red lights, creating temporary congestion but no collisions or injuries. Waymo quickly suspended its ride‑hailing service in the area while engineers investigated the incident and worked to restore normal operations.

Company spokesperson Jane Doe said, “Our vehicles are designed to prioritize safety above all else. When the traffic infrastructure failed, the cars entered a safe‑stop mode, which prevented any harm to passengers or pedestrians.”

The power outage, which affected large portions of the city for several hours, also impacted other forms of transportation, but Waymo’s prompt response highlighted the importance of robust safety protocols for autonomous fleets.

Waymo plans to resume service once the traffic signals are back online and additional system checks are completed, reaffirming its commitment to safe, reliable driverless mobility in urban environments.