Blackout led to shutdown of traffic lights, leaving Waymo’s autonomous taxis unable to interpret intersections without active signals
SAN FRANCISCO: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Dec 22, 2025) A recent power outage in San Francisco created significant challenges for Waymo’s driverless taxi operations, after traffic signals across several parts of the city became non-functional.
According to the reports, the blackout led to the shutdown of traffic lights, leaving Waymo’s autonomous taxis unable to interpret intersections without active signals.
As a result, several vehicles reportedly became confused and came to a halt while navigating their assigned routes.
The large-scale power outage affected a substantial portion of the city, disabling traffic lights and other critical infrastructure.
The situation proved particularly problematic in areas where vehicles were forced to operate without traffic signals, as driverless cars struggled to make accurate decisions in the absence of standard road cues.
Waymo described the situation as potentially dangerous and unsafe, prompting the company to suspend the operation of all its autonomous taxis in the affected areas.
The company said the decision was taken to prevent vehicles from misjudging traffic conditions and safe routes.
In a statement, Waymo said its services would remain limited or completely suspended until power supply is fully restored, emphasizing that the move was aimed at ensuring the safety of passengers, pedestrians and other road users.
