Waymo self-driving car goes on train tracks, passenger flees

Friday, January 16, 2026

A Waymo self-driving car has accidentally ended up on the tracks of a light-rail line in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The driver vacated the vehicle safely, but as revealed in an onlooker's recording of the event, the Waymo kept driving along the train tracks, raising alarms about safety and coordination accuracy. And because the driver had already sensed the perilous moment and exited the vehicle, there was nobody to subsequently intervene and cancel the trip.

Posted by lamplighter at 02:56 PM | 7 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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More from the article ...

... News outlet First Alert 6 reported that the railway was constructed just last year, which is why the car confused it with a road.

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are typically programmed to learn from past mistakes, rather than anticipating future changes. And in the case of expanding cities like Phoenix, construction zones and new layouts are known weak points for driverless GPS operating systems.

In this case, the passenger, being untrained, would not have been expected to take a measured intervention, especially in such a high-stress, fight-or-flight situation. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-16 02:57 PM | Reply

As the video in the article shows, there was a train approaching the Waymo vehicle.

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-16 02:58 PM | Reply

A self-driving car had a driver?

#3 | Posted by qcp at 2026-01-16 03:10 PM | Reply

@#3

Yeah, that caught my eye as well.

From the video, it looks like the person who left the vehicle left via a rear door, i.e., not in the driver seat.

I'm thinking the article may have misrepresented the passenger who booked the ride as the driver of the ride.

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-16 03:26 PM | Reply

"A Waymo self-driving car has accidentally ended up on the tracks of a light-rail line in the city of Phoenix, Arizona."

A suicidal self-driving car?

Well, it had been acting depressed the last few days.

Down in the pumps.

#5 | Posted by Danforth at 2026-01-16 03:54 PM | Reply | Funny: 2

It spent too much time "interfacing" with GROK.

Apparently.

#6 | Posted by donnerboy at 2026-01-16 03:59 PM | Reply

It is events just such as this that tell me self-driving is not ready for prime time. There was another among the many, who was stuck in a round about. It took him calling the company to get the vehicle to stop traveling the round about. Call me old school but I am not ready for this. I know that while I'm in control of my vehicle it's not going to do such.

#7 | Posted by BBQ at 2026-01-16 04:03 PM | Reply