Waymo is known for dropping people off at the wrong address. But its debut in Charlotte began with a crash
Waymo is a service offering car rides to people in driverless vehicles. Waymo had its first operations in Charlotte, NC on February 25, 2026, a crash occurred involving Waymo in Charlotte on the first day of business. The crash was near Truist Field on West Fourth Street. Waymo is owned by Google parent company Alphabet. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
The crash was at 4 p.m. at the height of rush hour traffic. A unknown vehicle crossed a double yellow line and drove in front of the Waymo to get around it. The suspect car then cut the Waymo vehicle off.
The vehicle then smashed on brakes, causing the Waymo to stop. The vehicle in front then drove in reverse crashing into the Waymo.
The suspect vehicle then drove off. The Waymo vehicle sustained front end damage. The Waymo vehicle was determined to not be at fault.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires self-driving car companies like Waymo, to report each time their vehicles are involved in an accident, regardless of whether the autonomous vehicle was at fault.
According to NHTSA, Waymo’s driverless vehicles have been involved in about 30 different collisions resulting in some type of injury. Nearly all of those crashes were the fault of other cars driven by humans.
Many people complain about Waymo dropping them off at the wrong locations. For example, Waymo will drop someone off at the address listed, but at the wrong building or at a parking lot 200 yards from where the rider is suppose to be dropped off at.
