Waymo fireworks chaos on July 4 highlights AV regulatory risks

Waymo’s driverless fleet suffered a series of high-profile malfunctions across the United States during the July 4 holiday weekend, leaving passengers stranded and city streets gridlocked. In San Francisco, dozens of the autonomous vehicles stalled following the Golden Gate Bridge fireworks display. Several cars ran out of battery power and had to be towed away by crews, while residents reported sitting in traffic for up to two hours.

The disruptions extended beyond California. In Atlanta, motorists filmed themselves stuck behind three Waymo vehicles frozen at an intersection. San Francisco fire crews fielded more than 500 emergency calls that night as the trouble unfolded. Frustrated drivers were even seen climbing out of their cars to yell at the empty vehicles.

The most alarming incidents involved fireworks placed on the road. At least two Waymos drove directly over lit pyrotechnics. Passenger Rose Peterson filmed her vehicle rolling over a firework at a four-way stop before it caught fire on Connecticut Street. “Are we on fire, dude?” a rider asks in the video clip. Waymo stated there were no injuries or damage and said it has since contacted the rider.

Waymo attributed the chaos to the environment rather than software failure. A company spokesperson told Business Insider that severe congestion, a surge of travellers, and unplanned road closures disrupted operations. The vehicles remained fully autonomous throughout the ordeal. Some cars resumed driving once traffic cleared, while others idled until their batteries died.

A regulatory warning for Europe

For European policymakers and investors watching the autonomous vehicle sector, the holiday meltdown underscores the tension between rapid commercialisation and public safety. Safety advocates and attorneys noted that a fleet of buses behaving this way would be immediately grounded. They are urging US regulators like the NHTSA to establish hard operational benchmarks before allowing robotaxi fleets to expand further.

Waymo counters that it leads the industry in driverless miles and that its safety record per mile surpasses human drivers. However, the company is racing to add new cities as competitors like Zoox gain ground and the industry broadly moves to eliminate human safety monitors.

Peterson noted that the car should be “more sensitive of anything that can come into the path of the road.” As European cities prepare for their own autonomous trials, the July 4 events highlight the risks of deploying driverless technology in dense urban environments without robust, pre-approved failsafes for unpredictable edge cases.