Feng Huang Wang·2025-12-25 00:13Core Viewpoint - Waymo's autonomous vehicles are designed to handle situations where traffic lights are out by treating them as four-way stops, but the scale of the issue has led to operational challenges [1] Group 1: Operational Performance - Waymo reported that its vehicles successfully navigated over 7,000 instances of non-functioning traffic lights, but this led to a surge in requests for confirmation checks to ensure safety [1] - The increase in confirmation requests resulted in task backlogs and response delays, exacerbating traffic congestion on already crowded streets [1] Group 2: Service Suspension - Waymo temporarily suspended its services in San Francisco at the request of city officials to clear streets for emergency responders during a widespread power outage [1] - The company emphasized that this decision was made to prevent further congestion and to ensure that emergency vehicles could operate effectively during peak rescue times [1] Group 3: Industry Context - The power outage in San Francisco caused significant disruptions to public transportation and impacted Waymo's autonomous taxi services [1] - In contrast, Tesla's Robotaxi service reportedly was not affected by the power outage, as noted by Elon Musk [1]