Posted on 05/15/2026 11:34:52 AM PDT by DFG
ATLANTA — Waymo’s self-driving cars can be seen all over Atlanta streets, giving rideshare trips through Uber.
But what happens when they’re empty?
In one northwest Atlanta neighborhood, the residents say dozens of Waymo cars end up circling their cul-de-sac.
“It’s almost every little cul-de-sac in our area, so I think it’s a problem,” one neighbor, on Battleview Drive, told Gehlbach.
On a dead end street, Waymo after Waymo after Waymo drive on, usually early in the morning.
“I think yesterday morning, we had 50 cars that came through between 6 and 7,” a neighbor told Channel 2 Action News.
Residents on Battleview Drive said they started seeing the autonomous, driverless cars about two months ago, but the groups and large numbers of Waymos just circling in and out only started the last couple of weeks.
The neighbors shared videos of the cars with Channel 2 Action News.
When one resident put a Step2Kid sign up in the street, it blocked all of the Waymos from entering the cul-de-sac, but how that played out was a surprise for those living there.
“We had, at one point, eight Waymos that were stuck trying to figure out how to turn around,” the neighbor said.
The Waymos are empty and not picking up anyone, and parents are worried, saying it’s not just excessive, but dangerous.
“We’re families, we have small animals and pets, got kids getting on the bus in the morning and it just doesn’t feel safe to have that traffic,” one neighbor said.
The residents said they’d reached out ot Waymo and have not gotten a response, so they also contacted their city council member, representatives and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The neighbors said they don’t know what to do.
“We would like to just see them stay on main traffic roads,” one neighbor said. “I don’t think there’s any reason for them to be on small residential cul-de-sacs if they’re not picking up somebody.”
Channel 2 Action News only saw one Waymo circling the area around mid-morning, and someone was in the driver’s seat.
Waymo responded to Gehlbach with the following statement:
“At Waymo, we are committed to being good neighbors. We take community feedback seriously and have already addressed this routing behavior. With over 500,000 weekly trips across the country, our service is proven to significantly reduce traffic injuries and improve road safety. We value our relationship with Atlanta residents and remain focused on providing a seamless, respectful, and safe experience for riders and residents alike.”
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They should have parking lots where they can sit and not burn gas.
The video of that is both hilarious and disturbing.
If it happened in my cul de sac (aka dead-end dirt-road), we would trap the cars here and Waymo would have to come get them.
Slow moving skeet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYkv6jvTpCc
from a year ago, a bunch of empty Waymos honking at each other in SF:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvs0K1LG1ac
The unexpected consequences of an AI being allowed to drive a car.
AI doesn’t know it’s doing something stupid. AI can’t handle a situation that it isn’t trained for. AI is not intelligent.
Leave phone at home, wear hoodie and covid mask, Molotov cocktail....
If an ambulance or fireteam needed to get through, people could lose their lives. That ‘response’ from Waymo towards the end sounded pretty generic and non-specific.
He could have been responding to any concern under the sun.
They don’t yet take this as a serious matter.
Engineers + Nerds vs The Rest of The World!
Throw a couple Class Action law suits in their direction, the apparent arrogance might change.
I was recently in San Francisco and was surprised how many Waymos I saw. Usually seemed to be empty, but they were everywhere. I live in a small MA town — no Waymos where I live.
In one northwest Atlanta neighborhood, the residents say dozens of Waymo cars end up circling their cul-de-sac …Could be me, but I never saw any US media use the British/French/etc. term for “dead end” before.
There was an article about the “driverless” taxis being driven by remote drivers in the Philippines. The last time we were in San Francisco, I was driving near the Exploratorium. Every time I came to an intersection with one of those WayMo Troubles, I waited to see which way it (the Philippine driver) was turning. I then went AWAY from it. I didn’t care if I had to go around the block again.
In an accident with a WayMo Trouble Taxi, does the Philippine driver have the required license, insurance and registration? How do you exchange information? I don’t speak Tagalog.
Waymo fun than taking a lowly uber....
AI sounds suspiciously like a democrap....
And don’t forget the gas can and disposable flame source
Maybe someone will get stuck and make a song. Like M.T.A.
They’re landing on the Jersey beaches
Their engines make the white sand swirl
The heat is so intense
Earth men have no defense
Against tomorrow’s girls
Tomorrow’s girls…
In street design parlance, a cul-de-sac and a dead end street are not the same. The latter is just a street that is cut off with its original cross-section, while the former is designed with a circular terminus to allow a vehicle to turn around without backing up.
Driverless car on the cul-de-sac. “Hey, kid! Your mom sent me. Get in.”
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