Passenger born onboard: Self-driving car takes 'delivery' a little too literally
Mid-journey, Waymo’s remote rider support team detected what it called “unusual activity” during the ride
The plan was simple: a ride to the hospital. What happened instead turned a Waymo robotaxi into an unlikely delivery room.
On Monday night, 10 December, a pregnant woman traveling to the University of California San Francisco Hospital went into labor inside a self-driving Waymo vehicle, says NBC.
Mid-journey, Waymo's remote rider support team detected what it called "unusual activity" during the ride. They called the passenger to check in and quickly alerted 911.
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Emergency services, however, never caught up. The baby was born in the back seat of the robotaxi, and the mother and newborn safely reached the hospital before responders arrived. UCSF later confirmed that both were healthy.
Waymo promptly took the vehicle out of service for cleaning, but not before embracing the moment. In a lighthearted blog post, the company described the newborn as an "extra surprise" delivered in the back seat. A spokesperson said Waymo was proud to be a "trusted ride for moments big and small," wishing the family well.
The birth added an unexpected chapter to Waymo's recent run of headlines. The company's vehicles have lately been reported driving past a major police felony stop in downtown Los Angeles, making an illegal turn in front of officers conducting a DUI operation in San Bruno, and circling streets endlessly in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Against that backdrop, a calm, complication-free birth inside a driverless car feels like a rare, wholesome anomaly. No traffic violations, no technical hiccups—just a successful arrival, albeit earlier than planned.
In a city built on innovation, San Francisco has now logged another first: a baby born en route in a robotaxi. Hospitals may deliver babies every day, but autonomous vehicles? That's a milestone no navigation system was designed for.
