A TikTok video capturing an autonomously operated Waymo One going the wrong way in busy traffic has gone viral on the video-sharing platform.
The 20-second clip, shot from another car, was posted by TikTok user @kilowattsapp and shows the driverless car entering a busy street with one-way traffic. Instead of following traffic laws and going right, the vehicle activates its left indicator and enters the street by going in the wrong direction.
The person filming the video exclaims, “Oh my God. It’s going the wrong way!”
Since its upload, the video went viral and has over 2.9 million views. Many users are going to the comment section to share their thoughts.
One commenter sarcastically remarked, “Amazing. Incredible how these things evolve. Already driving like a New Jersey driver.”
Another commenter empathized with the hypothetical passenger, humorously stating, “i just know the person inside SCREAMING.” However, due to tinted windows, it is difficult to discern whether a human was in the vehicle.
Other commenters made puns using the Waymo brand name, with one saying “Wrong waymo.”
“Cars doing Waymo than it needs to be,” another commenter wrote.
“Waymo don’t know the way no mo,” a third quipped.
@kilowattsapp Hello officer, sry i got a little confused #waymo #autonomous ♬ original sound – kilowattsapp
What is Waymo?
Waymo, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, touts itself as “the world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service.” The company first started offering driverless rides to the general public in 2020 and currently operates in San Francisco and Phoenix. It has plans to operate in Austin and Los Angeles in the near future.
This incident wasn’t an isolated case for the company. In April 2024, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a driverless Waymo briefly drove on the wrong side of the road.
The article states, “Cyclists captured a Waymo robotaxi driving in an opposite travel lane against oncoming traffic for nearly two blocks in downtown San Francisco — a maneuver the company says the driverless vehicle took to avoid a potential collision.”
In another instance, Waymo made headlines when one of its vehicles operating in autonomous mode struck and killed a dog in San Francisco, according to Autoblog.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @kilowattsapp via TikTok comment and to Waymo via its press email.
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