How a driverless taxi independently called the police on teenagers (2 photos + video)

An incident in San Mateo, California, provided a vivid example of how safety technologies in autonomous vehicles can prevent crime in real time. During a recent ride, two 15-year-olds decided to throw a "party" inside a Waymo taxi, drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns at passersby. The suspicious activity was detected by Waymo operators through the taxi's internal cameras, after which the company remotely locked the doors and steered the vehicle to a safe location, simultaneously calling the police. Arriving law enforcement discovered that the teenagers were using Orbeez pellets, but their actions, including drinking alcohol and using objects that resembled real weapons, posed a safety risk to those around them. The teenagers were ultimately detained and handed over to their parents, and the incident sparked discussion about how monitoring systems in autonomous vehicles can assist law enforcement in critical situations.