2024 Jaguar I-PACE

On July 25, 2026, at approximately 7:10 PM, I was a passenger in a fully autonomous Waymo vehicle traveling southbound near 24th Street and Southern Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. The vehicle entered the intersection to make a left turn and, while still in the active intersection, unexpectedly reversed. I considered this a serious safety concern because of the potential risk to surrounding traffic. Fortunately, there was no collision or injury. I reported the incident directly to Waymo and subsequently followed up, asking them to review the vehicle’s video and driving data. Approximately six weeks have passed, and Waymo has not responded to me regarding the incident. I am reporting this to NHTSA so the automated-driving behavior can be documented and reviewed as a potential vehicle safety issue.

How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? On multiple occasions, the vehicle crossed solid white lines during active traffic, made illegal turning maneuvers at intersections without yielding properly, and consistently camped in the passing lane at speeds below the flow of traffic. This forced other vehicles to pass on the right and created unpredictable merge scenarios that increased collision risk for surrounding drivers. Did emergency crews respond to the incident? No emergency crews responded to these specific violations, though they represent ongoing safety concerns during routine operation. Were there any warning lamps, messages, sounds, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning indicators were present. The vehicle operated normally from a system status perspective while committing the traffic violations. The illegal maneuvers occurred without any passenger notification or system alert. Was there a collision or impact with another vehicle, cyclist, pedestrian or stationary object? No collision occurred, but the illegal maneuvers created near-miss scenarios with other vehicles forced to react to unpredictable behavior. Was there a traffic violation? Yes. Multiple traffic violations including crossing solid white lines, illegal intersection maneuvers, and improper lane usage (camping in the passing lane).