A driver in Texas reported that a Waymo vehicle nearly struck them and then continued driving into the wrong lane. The user said the incident involved the vehicle entering oncoming traffic and described it as something they had not seen human drivers do in the area. The post raised questions about safety and responsibility involving autonomous vehicles on public roads.
The video was posted on the r/Austin subreddit under the username EthanGamerKingz, where it gained hundreds of upvotes and dozens of comments. The post quickly spread within the thread, with users debating both the incident itself and broader concerns about self-driving vehicles operating in busy urban areas.
According to the post, the Texas driver said they were stopped at a crosswalk when the Waymo vehicle moved into their path and then proceeded into the wrong side of the road. The user framed the clip as a warning for others and suggested that drivers should use dashcams when sharing the road with autonomous vehicles.
The driver added that they were already dealing with a separate collision involving their own car, which was in the shop at the time, and said they did not have a dashcam in their rental vehicle. They also said they reported the incident and other concerns directly but did not receive a response they considered meaningful.
In further comments, they argued that autonomous vehicles operating on public roads should undergo stricter testing and regulation, and that companies should be fully accountable under state traffic laws.
Texas Reddit Reacts To Waymo Claim
Reactions in the thread focused heavily on legal and insurance questions. Many users said that if an autonomous vehicle causes a crash, it would likely be handled through standard insurance claims first, with disputes often settling before reaching trial. Others said commercial insurance coverage and state oversight would still apply, meaning victims should be compensated if the company is found responsible.
Some commenters emphasized the practical difficulty of pursuing legal action against large corporations like Waymo, arguing that even straightforward cases can take a long time and may depend on whether companies choose to settle.
Others pushed back, saying Texas courts would still rely on evidence such as video and sensor data, and that liability would depend on fault rather than the type of vehicle involved. One user reacted critically to the presence of autonomous vehicles on the road, saying, “We need way less of these.”
The discussion also split on safety comparisons. Some users argued that autonomous vehicles may be more consistent than human drivers and benefit from detailed sensor logs that can clarify incidents. Others said the reported behavior shows that self-driving systems still require stronger oversight and that deployment on public roads should come with stricter regulatory standards.
