San Francisco man recalls being inside Waymo as it sped through construction zone, chased by police

CBS News ^ | 05/22/2026 | Andrea Nakano

[DFG]

It was a ride a San Francisco couple will never forget and will never want to take again. Elliot Slade and his fiancée took a Waymo from San Mateo, hoping to reach their Mission District home.

Instead, the Waymo sped through a construction zone, was chased by police, then veered off the highway into a residential neighborhood.

"The Waymo started freaking out as we got closer to the merge cause the lanes were kind of all merging," Slade said. "One lane was gone, another lane was, who knows where it was. Cars were all over the place going in."

Slade captured cellphone video showing the Waymo trying to merge, but it was what happened next that terrified him and his fiancée.

"The scariest part, we're all like OK, something's happening," he said. "We're just going to pull over, we're going to be safe. Then it accelerated to highway speeds down this construction lane."

At that point, Slade wondered if he was going to make it out of the Waymo alive.

"There were construction signs," he added. "There were lights going on. Police in the distance and it sped up. That's when I looked at my fiancée, we're done. This is it. We're dead. We're going to die right here in the Waymo."

Slade says the Waymo sped up for roughly 20 seconds. It eventually got off the highway and pulled over in a residential neighborhood. That's when they finally heard from a Waymo representative.

"She came on the line and said from what I could see, it seemed like a stressful experience," he recalls the voice saying. "What do you want to do next? I was like we want to get out. They're like do you want to continue the journey; I was like absolutely not."

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TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: aiharms; andreanakano; asianremotecontrol; automotive; badrobot; california; cbs; elliotslade; filipinodrivers; sanfrancisco; seebs; taxi; waymo

[NorthMountain]

Its surprising that the police have no “kill switch” to stop them.

Heck with the police ... the PASSENGERS need a big effing red button to stop the damn thing. In technical engineering parlance, it's called the "OH SHIT!!! Switch".

[Clay Moore]

I came here to see if they got yanked out of the car and tased.

[Libloather]

Can Waymo be used as a getaway car? Recalculating retirement as we speak...

[HYPOCRACY]

It has begun...

[bobbo666]

Waymo is subject to hijacking. Same thing happened when the jihadis murdered folks in Austin, Tx. A couple in a Waymo car exited a garage and the car stopped cross traffic — blocking coppers and EMT from getting to the terrorist attack.

Any vehicle subject to remote control of any kind will be used in murders. Think what a truck bomb could do at a July4 attack.

[Mozzafiato]

Can a passenger simply open the rear door on the Waymo and that will force the computer to stop?

There is a button on the iPad screen to tell Waymo to "Pull Over". Not sure if that would've worked here since the car was going haywire, but passengers should have hit the button. That being said I've seen Waymo do some weird stuff while I'm a passenger...nothing quite to this level, but freezing at a stop sign when a cable car is next to the Waymo, caught in an endless loop in a neighborhood and not breaking out of it until support was called, etc.

[libertylover]

Instead, the Waymo sped through a construction zone, was chased by police, then veered off the highway into a residential neighborhood.

Did the cops give him a ticket or arrest him?

[DIRTYSECRET]

You are aware that regular drivers have killed a lot more?

Think. No highway patrol. Drink while riding-no DUI’s. No auto insurance/work while riding(wi-fi). Then think of all those parked cars-no need to have one. These Waymos will be running 100% of the time and maintained on the outskirts of town where all mechanics will be working the midnight shift when traffic is down. Garages will become bedrooms and workshops. Gas stations will disappear and cars gassed up the same place where they’re maintained. No attitude from taxi drivers ripping you off and just think: women won’t have to fear getting into a car with a stranger. Men escorting their dates won’t have to deal with the homeless hassling them between their parked car and the theater. It’s gonna be awesome.

[faithhopecharity]

Waymos can be pretty cheeky, too.
Here’s one that made an illegal U-Turn right in front of the cops

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/video/news/local/san-bruno-police-pull-waymo-over/3955886/

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I went for a ride (perhaps 15 mi total) in my pal’s (actually daughter’s, he’s just borrowing it) Tesla model Y. First time in a Tesla. He was over the top at the self-driving. About $45 K. Incidentally, he said that over 95% of Tesla driver DO NOT use the self driving. He/I observed any Teslas we passed, and there are lots of them in No CA. ALL of the drivers had their hands on the wheel. He didn’t touch the wheel except for: 1: getting in/out of my weird driveway and (2) hijacking a route the car chose for destination #2 but which he thought was shorter.

I will state unequivocally that this car could save a minimum of 10,000 traffic deaths a year.

[T.B. Yoits]

The vehicle was likely being driven remotely at the time by someone in the Philippines. The Chief Safety Officer from Waymo admitted (at 1:20 of the two and a half minute video) that operators in the Philippines weren't just "guiding" drivers but actually taking over if needed. Not only are these vehicles not self-driving, they're being driven by people overseas who do not even have U.S. driver’s licenses.

https://x.com/niccruzpatane/status/2019213765506670738

On a related note: "Waymo recalls robotaxi software after school bus incidents" (12/09/2025)

...an investigation by Nexstar’s KXAN found the company’s driverless vehicles illegally passed school buses with their stop arms out in Austin, Texas. The Austin Independent School District said similar incidents occurred at least 19 times this school year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation in October.

https://thehill.com/business/5638543-waymo-recall-robotaxi-software/

[GingisK]

Same with regular taxis?

[SecondAmendment]

> You are aware that regular drivers have killed a lot more?

So you are okay with your ride killing you on purpose is need be ?

And as for the other stuff, thanks for admitting the real end goal of all of this self driving stuff it's really intended to destroy your freedom and autonomy.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Freedom. I don’t wanna die-do you? These things can be worked out.

[EVO X]

A friend took me for a ride in his driver assist Toyota. He took his hands off the wheel and it would head towards the center line and opposing traffic and at the last moment jerk back into the lane.

I suspect the car just has lane departure warnings with active intervention if enabled. My car's steering wheel shakes if I depart lanes without signaling. It also has the option to actively intervene and move the car back into the lane. To keep the car centered, you need more hardware...