Waymo Robotaxi “Snitches” On Two 15-Year-Olds Drinking & Shooting Orbeez Guns In Bay Area

Two 15-year-old boys were detained in San Mateo Monday afternoon after the Waymo robotaxi they were riding in reported them to police – for drinking alcohol and firing a gel-bead blaster out of the moving car – then pulled itself over so officers could collect them.

Waymo’s remote monitors spotted the behavior on the vehicle’s interior cameras and called the San Mateo Police Department around 2:10 p.m. with the car’s exact location. The company then disabled the vehicle near 20th Avenue and El Camino Real, telling the pair the car was having trouble – a ruse that bought officers time to get into position.

Because the initial report described what looked like a real firearm, police conducted a high-risk stop, approaching with guns drawn and a police dog deployed. No one was hurt. Inside, officers found an Orbeez-style gel blaster – painted over to pass for the real thing – and open alcohol.

The teens cooperated, were detained, and were released to their parents. The case has been forwarded to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office for review of possible charges, including underage drinking, and police say they plan to pull the Waymo’s interior video.

“Parents do you know where your teens are? @waymo does!” The department wrote on Facebook: “After calling us and stopping the car, we were able to safely remove both subjects and determined they were shooting Orbeez from the car as they sipped on afternoon libations while being chauffeured around town in the driverless vehicle.”

“While there was some ingenuity to this scheme, toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye… Shooting projectiles at speed can cause real damage. And lest not forget the underage drinking. All bad ideas today for these two. Well, the Waymo might have been the smartest idea yet, because driving impaired would’ve made this so much worse.”

Waymo bars alcohol in its vehicles and doesn’t allow unaccompanied minors in its California markets – so the ride was violating the rules before the first bead flew – and company policy notes that support staff “may access live video during a trip” in urgent circumstances.

“Safety is our highest priority at Waymo,” a company spokesperson said in a statement after the story broke. “This behavior violates our user agreement, and while these sorts of events are rare, we take them extremely seriously and remain committed to improving road safety and mobility in the cities where we operate.”

Online, the reaction split between “snitching” complaints, designated-driver jokes, and the question underneath them: the robotaxi that gets you home safely is also a camera platform that can pull itself over and hand you to the police. For two 15-year-olds, the lesson arrived early – no driver doesn’t mean nobody’s watching.