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Phoenix police stop Waymo robotaxi after driving in wrong lane
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Phoenix police stop Waymo robotaxi after driving in wrong lane

A police officer stopped a Waymo self-driving vehicle in Phoenix after it ran a red light and entered a lane of oncoming traffic, according to dispatch records.

The incident took place on June 19, but local media, including the Arizona Republic, released body camera footage of the stopped vehicle this week, which shows the vehicle weaving through traffic before stopping in a parking lot. The footage also shows the officer’s point of view as he approaches an empty car.

Dispatch records (which are written in all capital letters) say the vehicle “WENT CRAZY” and that the officer ultimately “FAILED TO ISSUE A CITATION TO THE COMPUTER,” according to the Arizona Republic.

A Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch in a statement that the vehicle “encountered inconsistent construction signage” and “briefly entered an unoccupied traffic lane,” which it occupied for about 30 seconds after being prevented from returning to the correct lane.

“The entire event lasted approximately one minute and there were no passengers in the vehicle,” the spokesman said.

The Alphabet-owned robo-taxi company voluntarily recalled two programs this year following accidents. The safety of its software is also under investigation by federal regulators.

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