Empty Waymos Packets Are Making their way to Atlanta Neighborhoods

Residents of one Atlanta neighborhood say their mornings now begin with empty robots that slowly stroll along their waterfront before sunrise.

According to a report and WSBTV from Atlanta on Friday, residents along Battleview Drive in northwest Atlanta said Waymo vehicles have been in recent weeks repeatedly circling their dead end road, sometimes with large waves between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.

“On a dead end road, Waymo after Waymo after Waymo driving, usually in the morning,” a resident told WSB-TV.

Residents said Waymo vehicles first appeared in the area about two months ago, but the rounds have grown in recent weeks. The vehicles were said to be empty and unoccupied.

In order to prevent the driverless cars from entering the area, a local man put up a children’s sign near the road. However, this resulted in several Waymos being blocked while trying to convert.

“We had, at one point, eight Waymos that were stuck trying to figure out how to turn around,” one resident said.

According to Waymo, the company uses a partner to manage the fleet in Atlanta, and is working with the partner to prevent similar practices in the future.

“At Waymo, we are committed to being good neighbors,” the company said in a statement it shared Decrypt. “We take the community’s concerns seriously and have already worked with our shipping partner to address this issue.”

This latest follows a previous complaint in 2024, where residents of San Francisco he complained that Waymo vehicles honked repeatedly throughout the night as they gathered near parking lots and playgrounds.

The complaints come as Waymo and other autonomous companies face increased demand light on how their behavior works in public spaces and how much public control there is behind the scenes.

Earlier this year, lawmakers he asked Waymo controls the company’s use of remote assistants, including some located overseas. Waymo has said that the cars will choose to drive themselves and that remote operators will provide guidance rather than direct control.

“Users of autonomous vehicles are currently in the dark about their security and privacy when it comes to (Remote Assistants),” Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) said earlier. Decrypt. “We know there have been fatal or near-fatal accidents involving (autonomous vehicles), and we can’t wait for the U.S. to have a threat or a fatal accident involving a remote driver to take action.”