Waymo Tricks Unruly Teens, Delivers Them Directly To Police

When a pair of unruly teenagers took a joyride in a Waymo autonomous vehicle, they didn’t realize the company was watching them drink alcohol and shoot a gel blaster at passing motorists, police said.

The San Mateo Police Department said a Waymo employee tricked a pair of unruly 15-year-old passengers, and delivered them directly to waiting officers on July 6.

“Parents do you know where your teens are? Waymo does,” police wrote on social media alongside photos and videos.

According to police, the two teens were “up to trouble” in the autonomous taxi. But unbeknownst to them, an employee was watching as they drank alcohol and shot what appeared to be a firearm from the vehicle.

The Waymo employee contacted police, and while officers set themselves up in a safe location for a traffic stop, the employee tricked the teens, telling them the vehicle was having mechanical issues and had to stop.

The Waymo came to a stop in a local shopping center parking lot, where multiple officers were waiting. There, officers determined the teens were “shooting Orbeez from the car as they sipped on afternoon libations while being chauffeured around town in the driverless vehicle.”

Orbeez are small, gel-filled pellets that can be fired from toy guns known as gel-blasters.

“While there was some ingenuity to this scheme, toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” police said, noting that they can cause fear when they appear real. “Shooting projectiles at speed can cause real damage.”

And while underage drinking is a bad idea, police said, “the Waymo might have been the smartest idea yet, because driving impaired would’ve made this so much worse.”