The spike delayed Waymo’s response time to its stalled vehicles. When city officials urged motorists to stay off the streets, Waymo said it suspended service.
The power failures, touched off by a fire at a PG&E Corp substation, rolled through San Francisco during the weekend, at one point affecting about 130,000 customers. Social media videos showed multiple Waymo vehicles stopped in the middle of streets with their hazard lights flashing, creating massive backups.
The company said it was taking steps to integrate more information in its software about the “context” of regional power outages, letting the vehicles “navigate these intersections more decisively.” Waymo also is working with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on emergency response protocols and updating its first responder training.
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