The police reported that the self-driving taxi service company Waymo recently reported two teenagers to the police, accusing them of underage drinking and shooting a toy gun.
The San Mateo Police Department in the San Francisco Bay Area posted on Instagram on July 6, stating, “Parents, do you know where your children are? Waymo does! Luckily, they were riding with Waymo, otherwise if they had driven drunk, the consequences could have been more serious.”
According to the police, two 15-year-old teenagers were riding in a Waymo self-driving car in the San Mateo area, drinking alcohol and shooting Orbeez toy crystal beads from inside the vehicle.
Upon detecting the unusual situation, the Waymo self-driving car immediately stopped and alerted the authorities. When the police arrived at the scene, they safely removed the two individuals from the vehicle and confirmed that they were using a toy gun.
The police stated that the two teenagers have been detained, but did not disclose whether they have been arrested or the specific legal consequences they may face.
“Although this behavior may seem ‘creative,’ toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all carry real risks, especially for people lacking discernment experience,” the police said. “Simply possessing these items could cause panic in bystanders or individuals who cannot clearly distinguish.”
The police further stated, “Rapidly firing any projectiles can cause real harm, not to mention the fact that the two teenagers were also ‘underage drinking.’ What these two individuals did today was very wrong.”
Waymo allows teenagers aged 14 to 17 to ride alone in self-driving cars through a Teen Account, which must be linked to a parent’s account for supervision; in case of any issues or incidents, the company may also proactively contact the parents.
According to information from the Waymo online customer service center, if the vehicle detects any safety risks, the system will automatically pull over or, when necessary, stop directly on the road.
Waymo was originally a self-driving car development project launched by Google in 2009, using the Toyota Prius model at the time.
In 2015, Google first put the project on public roads, arranging for a legally blind person to ride in their self-developed Firefly self-driving car in Austin, Texas for public testing.
According to information from the Waymo website, the company became an independent entity in 2016 and started providing fully autonomous self-driving shuttle services to select passengers in San Francisco through a waiting list and the “Trusted Tester” program in 2022.
In 2024, Waymo officially opened its autonomous self-driving shuttle service in San Francisco to the public via the Waymo application and subsequently expanded to other major cities across the United States.