Kids sit – A Santa Monica resident said she saw three boys climb onto Waymo window ledges during a late Friday ride into West Los Angeles—then called the company’s customer service as police reported no calls. She says Waymo told her the vehicle could stop if a threat wa
For miles, the scene looked like a dare.
Late Friday afternoon in Santa Monica. a resident said three boys—pre-teen to teen—crawled out onto the open window ledges of a white Waymo while the driverless vehicle traveled from Santa Monica into West L.A. The incident. she said. began around 6 p.m. and it kept unfolding even after she tried to get the boys to sit back down and reached out to Waymo customer service.
Rojia Shahsavani, who said she was out around 6 p.m. tackling errands. told that she first noticed the Waymo when it was a car or two in front of her in the left-hand lane. She said she saw the boys taking selfies and sitting on the window ledges as the vehicle moved eastbound. At first, she said she assumed they would pose quickly and then climb back in.
But she watched them stay out.
Shahsavani said she encountered the vehicle at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and 26th Street. She estimated the two boys sitting in the back window opening were between 12 and 14 years old. As the Waymo passed Stewart Street. she said the youngest of the trio—whom she believed was closer to 10—joined them in sitting on the window opening.
She pulled alongside the car and tried to warn them to “sit back down,” Shahsavani said. She described how the message didn’t land.
“They ignored me, and one of them said he only spoke Italian,” she said. “You don’t have to understand English to understand what I was saying.”
From there, Shahsavani said she called Waymo customer service as the vehicle crossed Bundy Drive on its way from Santa Monica into West Los Angeles. During the ride, she said the kids continued taking selfies, and she added that one appeared to be holding a red canister.
Shahsavani said a Waymo agent told her the company had the ability to stop the car if it determined a threat. She said the agent also told her several cameras could monitor the situation.
Then, she said, the road kept stretching out.
“We kept passing intersections, and the car kept going,” she said. “I kept waiting for Waymo to stop the car, and they kept telling me, ‘It’s not the right place to stop the car.’”
A request to Waymo media relations was not returned.
In the meantime, Santa Monica police said they had no record of the incident through their line that day. Lt. Lewis Gilmour, Santa Monica police public information officer, said his department had received no calls or reports about the episode. He directed witnesses to contact the department at (310) 458-8491.
Shahsavani said her concern grew as the drive continued and the speed limit rose along the route. She said that from Bundy Drive to Barrington Avenue, drivers were going between 30 and 35 miles per hour. She said traffic later picked up around Sepulveda Boulevard. with drivers going faster. and the number of lanes opened up to four.
As she followed behind, she said the boys were still hanging out the windows when the Waymo turned right in the area of Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills.
Shahsavani said she spoke up because she believed people could have been hurt—both the boys and other drivers or bystanders. She said she wasn’t against autonomous technology itself, but she felt the moment demanded stronger public-safety response.
“Listen, I’m all for technology and innovation, but I didn’t think Waymo was all that concerned about what was happening and the misuse of the car,” Shahsavani said. “As technology becomes more common, public safety has to evolve and catch up.”
Waymo autonomous vehicle Santa Monica West Los Angeles driverless car public safety juvenile passengers customer service police
Waymo should’ve stopped way sooner.
So the cops reported no calls but a lady called customer service? Sounds like nobody wants to take responsibility. Also kids on moving windows seems like Waymo “can stop” is just marketing.
I don’t get it, like if the car is driverless it should detect humans hanging out. Maybe the “stop if there’s a threat” thing is only for like actual threats like a weapon?? And the Italian line is weird too, like what does that even mean, kids are just trolling.
Kids doing selfies on a self-driving car is why we can’t have nice things. But also… why were there open window ledges like that? I saw a TikTok once where the car froze when someone stood up, so maybe it worked and they didn’t notice. Or maybe it slowed down “for miles” but still moved, which is honestly the same problem. Get parents involved, and stop letting these cars roam like it’s a theme park.
So it stopped or not? Feels like the story changes.
I mean kids will be kids but sitting on the Waymo windows like that is insane. If it’s “driverless” then how is it even moving while people are out there. Also customer service?? seems like they should have called someone way faster.
“Only spoke Italian” like that’s relevant lol. If they’re dumb enough to climb out on a moving car they probably didn’t even understand the threat thing. Waymo should’ve just braked automatically, that’s the whole point right? Or maybe the car was hacked by some tourist or something.
This is why I don’t trust any of these self driving cars. They say it can stop for a threat but the kids were literally sitting there for miles? Sounds like the warning system doesn’t work, or it’s too slow. And the fact the lady called and police reported no calls makes me think nothing was done. Next thing you know it’ll be a TikTok challenge to ride the windows.