A driverless Waymo robotaxi caused a traffic jam at a Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Santa Monica, leaving customers baffled and raising serious questions about the readiness of autonomous vehicles — especially those intended to replace traditional Uber and taxi drivers (Video Below).
The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. when the driverless vehicle pulled into the drive-thru entrance on Lincoln Boulevard and abruptly stalled, hazard lights blinking. As it sat unmoving, an unusually long line of cars began to build up behind it.
Witness Chris Kellogg, who recorded the bizarre scene, said, “I waited in line for about a half-hour before being told the drive-thru-only restaurant was closed.” His videos show Chick-fil-A staff stepping outside, clearly unsure how to deal with the stranded robotaxi, which made a half-hearted attempt to reverse before freezing again.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, confirmed the vehicle had dropped off a passenger in the car park and then struggled to complete a multi-point turn in the tight space between the drive-thru lane and other vehicles. The company dispatched a team to retrieve the vehicle and stated, “We are committed to continuously improving our service and making appropriate updates to prevent this from happening in the future.”
While minor glitches have occurred before, this public mishap in a fast-food drive-thru highlights the real-world limitations of autonomous vehicles. As tech companies push to replace human Uber and taxi drivers with self-driving alternatives, scenes like this suggest we may still be years away from that becoming a reliable reality.
From navigating chaotic car parks to responding to sudden changes in the environment, human drivers still have an edge when it comes to handling everyday complexity. For now, this incident serves as a cautionary tale: while robotaxis might be the future, they’re not quite ready to take over the roads just yet.
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