Two California teenagers face possible charges after they were caught drinking and firing a toy gun from inside a driverless Waymo vehicle on Monday afternoon. The incident prompted the company to remotely halt the car and trap the passengers inside until police arrived.
Incident Details
The incident began when San Mateo police received a 911 call from a Waymo representative, who believed the passengers were firing a real weapon based on the vehicle’s live interior camera feeds. Waymo shared the car’s location with authorities and remotely disabled it near 20th Avenue and El Camino Real while officers moved into position.
Officers treated the response as a high-risk traffic stop and safely removed the 14- and 15-year-old passengers before searching the vehicle and their property. Investigators determined the teens had been shooting an Orbeez gun, a widely available toy that fires water-filled pellets.
Privacy Concerns
The situation highlights the ethical gray areas of driverless technology and active passenger monitoring. Irina Raicu, the internet ethics program director at Santa Clara University, questioned whether the observation of the gun was made by people outside the car or through the live video feed.
Despite the privacy concerns, the police commended Waymo’s handling of the situation. The teenagers were not arrested and were released to their parents. Investigators are asking the district attorney’s office to review a possible open-container violation and are continuing to work with Waymo to determine if additional charges are appropriate.
Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
