A driverless Waymo tried to go around a California Highway Patrol traffic break on northbound Interstate 280 last Friday, and officers used their cruisers to block its path until the robotaxi stayed back with traffic, NBC Bay Area reported, citing a passenger video and a CHP statement.
A rider who gave her name as AJ told the station she and a friend were in the first row of cars when the CHP slowed traffic to clear debris. Their video, which NBC said had gathered more than 3.3 million views, shows the Waymo attempting to get around the patrol cars before an officer swerves to block it. The CHP confirmed to NBC that multiple officers used their cruisers to block the Waymo’s path and said the vehicle ultimately complied. The agency also said it had had no communication with Waymo about the incident. It was unknown whether anyone was in the Waymo at the time, the station reported.
Waymo had not responded to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment on the video. The company has previously said it works with first responders to improve how its vehicles handle traffic hazards and that it has remote-assistance and emergency-response teams, the station noted, and it recalled earlier complaints about Waymos freezing in intersections during a 2025 San Francisco power outage and blocking streets after this year’s Fourth of July fireworks. AJ told NBC she saw the episode as “a bump in the road” and “a work in progress.” This account is based on NBC Bay Area’s report and the CHP statement quoted there; the station did not publish a more specific date than Friday.