- Three driverless Waymo cars were filmed in a traffic “standoff” in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood.
- A TikTok video by @chii_rinna has more than 3 million views and captured the incident.
- Waymo says two vehicles made “minor contact at low speed” during a multi-point turn and is investigating.
- Neighbors report frequent AV traffic slowdowns; experts call incidents growing pains.
H2: What happened
A TikTok video posted Dec. 6 by user @chii_rinna shows three white, unoccupied Waymo vehicles stopped on a dead-end street in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood. The clip — viewed millions of times — shows two Waymo cars attempting a multi-point turn while a third approaches downhill and becomes blocked.
The scene drew neighbors to their windows and a man who called the jam a “Waymo standoff.” In follow-up footage, a person in a yellow vest arrives to check the vehicles. Residents later filmed the aftermath as traffic backed up in both directions.
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TikTok video: https://www.tiktok.com/@chii_rinna
H3: Waymo responds
Waymo issued a brief statement saying two of its vehicles made “minor contact at low speed” while trying to complete a multi-point turn on a dead-end street. The company said the cars were unoccupied, that it is investigating the incident, and that situations like this provide learning opportunities to improve fleet behavior.
H3: Local reaction and context
Residents in SoMa told reporters AVs have created recurring traffic slowdowns, with complaints of cars double-parking or getting stuck while trying to enter garages. One neighbor said delays of 10–15 minutes can disrupt daily routines and raise safety concerns for emergencies.
H3: Expert perspective
Billy Riggs, an autonomous-vehicle expert and professor at San Francisco State University, framed the incident as part of the technology’s growing pains. He noted driving is a complex behavior and high-profile AV incidents attract attention because the technology is still new to crowded urban streets. Riggs added that when engineers identify troublesome behavior they can push software updates across the fleet to address issues quickly.
He also emphasized a safety benefit: AVs don’t speed or drive distracted and can be safer than human drivers in many scenarios, though edge cases remain a challenge.
H3: Broader implications
The viral clip comes amid rising presence of Waymo and other autonomous vehicles in urban areas. City responders have adjusted emergency protocols for AVs and companies maintain 24-hour contact lines to take control of vehicles when needed.
KTVU’s reporting also recalled a separate high-profile incident where a Waymo passenger gave birth while en route to a hospital; in that case Waymo said its remote support team recognized unusual activity and emergency services were contacted.
H4: Bottom line
The SoMa standoff spotlights operational challenges as driverless fleets expand in complex city environments. Waymo says it will investigate the low-speed contact and apply lessons learned to reduce similar incidents in the future.
Image Referance: https://www.ktvu.com/news/waymo-standoff-san-francisco-goes-viral
