Producer and actress Mikayla Petrilla posted footage of her Waymo ride running a red light last week. The self-driving car approached a light that turned yellow, then crossed the intersection as it turned red, and its passengers yelled in alarm. Luckily, Waymo didn’t injure anyone this time. However, this kind of behavior from the automated vehicles seems to represent part of an ongoing pattern. Yellow doesn’t mean drive faster, Waymo In a seven-second TikTok video, Petrilla (@heyitsmikayy) filmed and narrated as her Waymo went rogue. “Are you gonna run it?” she asked the car. “You’re running the light! You’re running the light! You just ran the light! That’s right-my Waymo straight up ran a red light.” It’s not ambiguous, either. The light turns yellow while the car is pretty far out from the intersection, giving it plenty of time to stop. Instead, it maintains speed, and the light turns red while they’re not even halfway across. As those who have been daring yet unlucky while driving themselves know, that will usually get you pulled over if a cop sees it. Even in states with “permissive” yellow light laws, your front bumper has to cross into the intersection before the light turns red for it to be legal. California is not one of those states. The DMV of California, where this incident took place, according to the video tags, requires vehicles to stop at a yellow if it’s safe to do so. @heyitsmikayy Driverless cars, am I right? #car #waymo #losangeles #carsoftiktok ♬ original sound Mikayla This type of thing is also far from Waymo’s only issue. Back in May, a recall of over 1, 200 Waymo cars went in effect after being issued in December 2024, months after Google claimed to have fixed the issue. None of that makes sense, but that’s the tech industry for you. Additionally, Waymo vehicles getting in the way because they’re malfunctioning has become such a nuisance in California that the recent anti-ICE protests there incorporated them with fire. “Waymo should have chosen the safest option” You can find more evidence that Waymo is not a popular and perhaps not a safe brand in the video’s comments. Petrilla is far from the only passenger who’s had trouble with the self-driving taxis. @heyitsmikayy/TikTok “Yesterday, mine sped up at a yellow light, ran a red, switched lanes in the middle of the intersection, and actually beat another car in a race,” @melrosemaker claimed. “I was shocked. My waymo went around a turning circle 5 times once,” said @lotsofgoldenlily. While others argued over whether or not Petrilla’s Waymo actually ran a red light, some would prefer that these vehicles prioritize caution. @heyitsmikayy/TikTok TikToker @pandakrystal_ asserted that “regardless of whether it is legal, Waymo should have chosen the safest option, which is slowing down.” This brought up further questions for Petrilla herself, who responded to the above comment. “This what I’m here to say, yes!!” wrote the actress. “It is extremely unclear how sharp the reflexes of the car are if there’s an issue at the intersection. If there was an accident, I don’t even know the protocol and the website does not state either! Do I invite the person we hit into the Waymo to talk to customer service. The internet is chaotic-but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here. Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online. The post “You just ran the light!”: Passenger films her Waymo running a red light appeared first on The Daily Dot.
