NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — A driverless car ride took an unexpected turn this week when two 15-year-olds were detained by police after allegedly drinking alcohol and firing water bead guns out the windows of a self-driving Waymo vehicle.
San Mateo police say they were alerted directly by Waymo after the company’s system flagged unusual activity inside one of its autonomous vehicles. According to police spokesperson Jeanine Luna, officers stopped and searched the car Monday afternoon following contact from a Waymo representative.
Bystander photos obtained by a local TV station showed the teens leaning out of the vehicle’s windows during the ride. Investigators later determined the teens had been drinking inside the car and firing Orbeez — the small, water-absorbent gel beads often used in novelty toy guns — out into the street as the vehicle moved through town.
In an unusual twist, Waymo itself pulled the vehicle over, guiding it into a nearby parking lot and notifying police in advance that it was doing so. Officers were reportedly able to communicate with a Waymo representative directly through the car’s built-in communication system during the stop.
Police emphasized that the teens were never in any danger of being trapped. Police say the teens were not locked in and had every ability to leave the vehicle.
The San Mateo Police Department later posted about the incident on social media, using it as an opportunity to warn residents about underage drinking and the risks associated with water bead guns, including eye injuries. That post reportedly drew heavy engagement online, with over 150 comments — many raising a different concern entirely: how much surveillance capability Waymo vehicles actually have, and whether it’s appropriate for a private company to alert police and detain riders using onboard monitoring systems.
Waymo has not publicly detailed exactly how it identified the teens’ behavior in real time, and the company did not respond to questions about whether the passengers were told the vehicle was being redirected to meet police.
What Does Waymo’s Camera System Actually Do?
According to Waymo’s own support documentation, interior cameras are primarily used for basic safety and service functions — confirming the vehicle is clean, helping locate items left behind, and assisting during emergencies. The company has stated it does not use facial recognition to identify riders individually.
However, the same documentation notes that support staff may review footage under certain circumstances, including once an issue has been flagged, and in more urgent situations, may access live video feeds during an active trip — which appears to be what happened in this case.
Not Waymo’s First Brush With Crime
This isn’t the first time one of the company’s driverless vehicles has ended up in the middle of a police matter. Last month in San Francisco, a burglar reportedly broke into a yoga studio, stole several items of activewear, and then used a Waymo vehicle as his getaway car.
Taken together, the incidents are raising fresh questions nationally about the role autonomous vehicles may play — intentionally or not — in law enforcement, and how much oversight riders should expect once they step inside one.
