Passenger Forced to Flee Self-Driving Vehicle After It Stops in Path of an Oncoming Train

A passenger in a Waymo self-driving vehicle got out and ran after the car stopped on Phoenix light rail tracks with a train approaching nearby. The tense moment was captured on video by a bystander.

The clip shows the passenger rushing away while the vehicle remains on the tracks, then later moving forward as another train can be seen nearby. The incident happened the morning of Jan. 7 near Central and Southern avenues in south Phoenix, where the light rail extension is still relatively new, per KPNX.

Phoenix police said they received a call about the situation, but the Waymo vehicle had left before officers arrived, according to the outlet. Authorities also reported no disruption to light rail service.

A Valley Metro spokesperson told the outlet that an employee who noticed the vehicle immediately alerted operations staff. Trains briefly reversed direction to reduce service impacts, and the area was cleared in about 15 minutes.

Arizona State University professor Andrew Maynard told the outlet the car appeared to make a poor decision in an unfamiliar setting, describing it as a rare “edge case” — a scenario where autonomous systems can struggle to respond the way a human driver might.

He added that self-driving cars tend to perform best on carefully mapped routes but can get confused by sudden structural changes. Maynard said nearby construction and the recent addition of the light rail could have contributed to the vehicle ending up on the tracks.

“Humans are really good at seeing a brand new situation and trying to work out how to get around it,” Maynard said, per KPNX. He noted that autonomous vehicles can be “smarter than humans when they know the road,” but may falter when something truly unexpected appears.

Despite the alarming visuals, Maynard said these systems are often safer than human drivers because they don’t get distracted, and they’re designed to react quickly once a problem is detected.

The incident comes after a previously reported near-miss involving a Waymo passenger whose ride suddenly swerved into oncoming traffic. In that account, the first-time rider said he felt powerless as another driver honked and swerved to avoid a crash.

Video from that encounter showed the passenger screaming as the autonomous vehicle moved into another car’s path. The situation ended without contact only because the other driver reacted in time.