How did Waymo vehicles perform during the San Francisco power outage?

Waymo vehicles successfully navigated over 7,000 dark signals during the PG&E outage on December 20, 2025, treating them as four-way stops.

Why did Waymo pause service in San Francisco during the blackout?

Waymo temporarily paused services to avoid adding to the severe traffic gridlock caused by the widespread power outage and to ensure emergency vehicles had clear passage.

What is Waymo doing to improve navigation during power outages?

Waymo is deploying fleet-wide updates that provide the system with specific power-outage context to enable more decisive navigation and is strengthening emergency response protocols.

Home / Technology / Waymo Navigates SF Blackout Chaos

Waymo Navigates SF Blackout Chaos

6 Jan

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Summary

Waymo vehicles navigated over 7,000 dark traffic signals during a major PG&E outage.
The outage caused significant gridlock, prompting a 'stay at home' advisory.
Waymo temporarily paused services and is updating systems for power outage context.

On December 20, 2025, a significant Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) outage left a third of San Francisco without power, resulting in citywide traffic gridlock due to inoperable traffic lights. Waymo has since shared an account of its autonomous vehicles' operations during the event, noting that its drivers are programmed to handle dark signals as four-way stops. During the outage, Waymo vehicles successfully navigated over 7,000 such intersections. However, the unusual scale of the event led to a spike in remote confirmation checks, causing some response delays and contributing to congestion.

To manage the unprecedented situation, Waymo temporarily paused its services within the affected area. The company directed its vehicles to pull over safely and later returned them to depots. This measure was taken to avoid exacerbating the traffic chaos and to ensure that emergency vehicles could move freely. Waymo is now refining its operational protocols and rolling out fleet-wide software updates that provide specific power-outage context, enabling more decisive navigation.