Passenger Trapped in a Driverless Car That Wouldn’t Stop
go haywire: to stop working correctly or become out of control
A man in Los Angeles almost missed his flight after a driverless taxi went haywire. Mike Johns was riding in a Waymo car on his way to the airport when the vehicle started going in circles in a parking lot. The robotaxis have no drivers, so he called Waymo’s customer service for help.
Johns told the customer service agent, “I can’t get out of the car. Why is this happening?” The agent told him to open the Waymo app to stop the car. However, the car kept moving in circles. Johns is not even sure if he was talking to a real person or an AI.
Johns finally arrived at the airport but was upset that Waymo never contacted him afterward. He shared his story on social media, and his video went viral.
Waymo says its goal is to make roads safer with driverless cars, but some people are worried about technical problems like this.
Sample sentences
The school computers went haywire during the test, and none of the students could finish.
His alarm clock went haywire and kept ringing all night long.
Everything went haywire during the wedding party when the lights suddenly went out, and the music stopped playing.
Origin
The expression “go haywire” comes from the early 20th century. Farmers used thin wire called “haywire” to tie hay bales. If the wire got tangled, it would become messy and hard to fix, leading to the idea of things becoming out of control or chaotic.
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Los Angeles man trapped in circling Waymo on way to airport says he missed his flight home