Posted on the 15th July 2026 in PHTM News

NAPPING USA ROBOTAXI PASSENGERS SPARK COSTLY EMERGENCY RESPONSES

When passengers in the US. nod off inside driverless cars, remote operators who cannot wake them are increasingly forced to call 911, turning harmless naps into high-stakes false alarms for local emergency services.

Last year, 30-year-old interior designer Ditto Kasendar fell asleep during a short ride in Los Angeles. He woke up nearly an hour after his trip ended to find firefighters opening his door.

A remote Waymo assistant had dialled 911 after repeatedly trying to rouse him over the car's speakers. "I was like, ‘Oh my god, what happened?’” Kasendar said.

These "sleepers" are becoming a regular challenge for cities. In Austin, Texas, emergency services recorded 99 such calls during Waymo's first nine months of operation. Because remote assistants monitoring the cabin cameras cannot always tell if an unresponsive passenger is breathing, dispatchers must treat these cases as potential heart attacks.

Roger Patterson, a commander with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, noted that only three per cent of these calls actually require hospital transport.

"We don’t want to commit a significant number of resources to these calls when, statistically, we know that most of the time, these people do not need further medical treatment,” Patterson said. "These calls are very resource-heavy.”

Beyond sleeping passengers, driverless fleets are grappling with the messy realities of human behaviour. Riders spill drinks, leave rubbish, and experience medical emergencies - including at least two births inside Waymo vehicles. To combat the mess, companies have introduced hefty cleanup fees.

Tesla charges up to $150 for severe messes or smoking, while Waymo charges up to $100 for unreported spills.

Some safety experts argue these operational challenges shift the costs of corporate research onto the public. Bryant Walker Smith, an automated vehicle technology expert, observed that "local governments are massively subsidising the research and development and operation of automated driving."

Meanwhile, emergency officials are calling for consistent rules to handle these vehicles. Fire Chief Tom Dwiggins of Chandler, Arizona, urged companies to create a unified system for first responders to safely disable cars and access cabins.

"We would love to see one standard approach across the board," Dwiggins said.

Despite the disruption, some users remain loyal to the driverless experience. Kasendar, who continues to ride with Waymo several times a week, said the emergency response actually reassured him. "It feels safer in a way," he said. "With humans you don’t know what’s going to happen, but with Waymo you do know."


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