A viral video posted to Threads is raising new questions about self-driving vehicles in Central Florida after it appeared to show a Waymo van moving into an Orlando intersection while the traffic light was red.
The video, posted Sunday by user @melisaunfiltered, had more than 670,000 views, 10,000 likes and hundreds of comments on Monday evening. It shows a Waymo self-driving van inching through the intersection of Kirkman Road and Carrier Drive at a red light. The vehicle then continues through the intersection, despite cross traffic — and then it changes lanes mid-intersection as the light turns green.
View on Threads
Many people commented on the post with concerns about safety and how they would feel if they were riding in the autonomous vehicle.
The video is not the only recent post drawing attention to Waymo vehicles in the area. Another social media user shared a photo of what appeared to be the same Waymo van with the same license plate number stopped at a green light on Sand Lake Road days earlier, refusing to move.
Video from a different user also appeared to show a similar Waymo van running a red light across Kirkman Road at the same intersection last week.
While driving around the tourist district, our crew spotted several Waymo cars and vans operating in the area normally. None had the same license plate as the vehicle seen in the viral video and the cars appeared to be following traffic signals safely.
We reached out to Waymo several times by email, asking whether any vehicles in Central Florida had been recalled, removed from service or otherwise pulled from circulation. Waymo responded to News 6 saying they were investigating this issue and working to answer our questions.
Waymo vehicles have been operating around Orlando and Oak Ridge since March.
The company’s most recent wave of recalls was in June, when thousands of vehicles were pulled from roads nationwide, including in Central Florida. The cars were having a hard time maneuvering in construction zones and abnormal traffic areas.
On its website, Waymo says trust and safety are paramount to the company.
This story may be updated as News 6 learns more information from Waymo about the incident.