Driverless Taxi Catches Car Thief in Downtown Los Angeles

An unusual incident occurred in the US: a Waymo robotaxi blocked a car thief. The incident occurred in downtown Los Angeles.

This week, Los Angeles police officers arrested a drunk man who was in the driver’s seat of one of Waymo’s electric vehicles at the time of his arrest. Local media footage showed officers dragging the offender out of the driver’s seat, which is usually unoccupied in self-driving cars. A few days after the incident, Waymo shared what typically happens when someone tries to steal a self-driving car. The company noted that out of the more than 5 million trips the company has made, there have been “only a few instances” of someone not authorized to drive the car trying to steal it.

Waymo is a maker of self-driving car technology. The company also launched a robotaxi service in the United States. According to Waymo representatives, their cars perform about 50,000 paid rides per week.