Waymo is arguably the closest factor to flying automobiles we’ve got in 2025. Nonetheless, how cool it’s, that does not imply it is foolproof. Or on this case, rainproof. As a resident of Phoenix, AZ, myself, it may be scary when it begins pouring rain, particularly since elements of the Valley are low-lying. Quick-forward to a couple days in the past, and Reddit began popping off with posts about Waymo’s drowning themselves on the facet of the highway, and truthfully, similar. Autonomous automobiles do have the liberty to drive right into a puddle after which shut off, and due to my fellow Phoenicians, we get an all-access view. Climate-proofing an EV sounds unlikely, however maybe somebody at Waymo HQ may contemplate a precipitation operate or mode in order that unfortunate riders aren’t caught of their automobile, within the rain, in a flooded space.
The Day It Rained In Phoenix, AZ, And Each Waymo Died
There as soon as was a time when Waymo dominated the roads of metro and suburban Phoenix. This empire of autonomous Jaguars crammed with tipsy passengers and Uber/Lyft-avoidant residents fell on a fateful day in September, all because of report rain and flash flooding. This previous Friday and weekend, the broader Phoenix space skilled big quantities of rainfall, accompanied by accidents, injury, and, most significantly, drowned Waymos. I, for one, did catch two going into puddles on my means dwelling that afternoon, and once I bought dwelling, the very first thing that was on my thoughts was Reddit and also you all.
Waymo Is All the time The Butt Of The Joke, However This Time It is Deserved
I am unsure if I am the one one who feels empathy for non-sentient objects, however I do. Waymo is minorly embarrassing in concept, and it tends to be folks’s go-to robo-taxi one-liner. When it rained final week right here within the Valley of the Solar (lies), these cabs all determined to seek out the closest, deepest puddle and make it a short lived parking spot, and for that, I am impressed. Waymo’s within the rain does not sound like a GREAT factor, nevertheless it does not sound practically as dangerous because it proved to be throughout this freak storm.
Think about Waymo’s In A Tropical Or Sub-Tropical Market…
If there’s one thing that I do wish to contact on right here, it is that if Waymo is unable to work round a shock rainstorm, how wouldn’t it do long-term in a local weather the place such a factor all the time occurs? The present Waymo markets embrace Phoenix, AZ; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Austin; and Atlanta. There are extra cities on the longer term checklist, together with Miami, which sort of brings my left eyebrow larger than the opposite.
Rain occurs, lots in some locations, so Waymo automobiles not with the ability to detect a clearly flooded roadway is not a kink to let tighten. No matter occurs the following time a Waymo encounters dangerous climate, let’s simply hope the rider is all proper and able to sit again and browse a ebook till assist arrives. Ugh. Phoenix, we love the rain, simply not the flash floods and Waymo drowning!
