Waymos circling an Atlanta neighborhoodThere are Waymo self-driving Jaguars taking people wherever they need to go all over metro Atlanta. But, when no one orders a ride, they seem to enter some sort of bizarre holding pattern/mating ritual in one suburban northwest Atlanta neighborhood, and it's understandably driving residents nuts. Videos show dozens of these self-driving I-Paces circling residential cul-de-sacs, seemingly aimlessly, yet no one has been able to figure out a good way to stop them.One resident of the Buckhead neighborhood described the bizarre phenomenon — which usually happens between 6 and 7 in the morning — as "a real problem" and said the cars were circling just about every cul-de-sac in the area without any passengers on board, according to WSB-TV 2. In just one hour, the resident said at least 50 Waymos drove through her cul-de-sac. The autonomous vehicles apparently started showing up about two months ago, but this new phenomenon only started in the last few weeks. It's not totally clear why. Again, perhaps it's mating season.In an attempt to deter the horny (I assume) Waymos, residents had what they thought was a good idea: they put out one of those little yellow plastic kid statues that read "slow" in front of the cul-de-sac. Unfortunately the idea backfired, as WSB-TV showed."We had, at one point, eight Waymos stuck, trying to figure out how to turn around," the resident said.These cars are also reportedly entering private property, like the Glenridge Woods Townhomes, according to Atlanta News First. It's a community near Buckhead, and while the issue isn't quite as prevalent, it's still a nuisance for residents. Safety concernsWaymos circling an Atlanta neighborhoodClearly, having dozens upon dozens of Waymos circling your block empty and emitting that sometimes-irritating EV hum can be a real nuisance, but there are also safety issues at play here. Suburban streets aren't meant to deal with this amount of traffic, and it's not like Waymos have the most sterling safety record in the first place. Hell, the company gave up on testing in New York City, which has some of the most pedestrian-laden streets in the country. They also have a pesky issue of blowing by school buses — something that could prove to be a deadly issue if not fixed."Our big concern is just the excessive traffic on the street. You know, we have families. We have small kids. We have animals and pets," that same resident told Atlanta News First. "We've got kids getting on the bus in the morning, and it just doesn't feel safe to have that traffic."Folks in the neighborhood have reached out to Waymo and contacted local officials and politicians about the issue.Jalopnik also reached out to the Alphabet-owned company, and the update does sound encouraging. Here's what a spokesperson told us:At Waymo, we are committed to being good neighbors. We take community feedback seriously and have already addressed this routing behavior. With over 500,000 weekly trips across the country, our service is proven to significantly reduce traffic injuries and improve road safety. We value our relationship with Atlanta residents and remain focused on providing a seamless, respectful, and safe experience for riders and residents alike. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google.
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