Austin, TX
Waymo Austin public safety concerns rise
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It’s been just over a year since Waymo rolled out its partnership with Uber, and its presence has rapidly expanded across Austin. There are now about 300 of the sleek white vehicles with black spinning tops driving around city streets, a level of ubiquity the company asserts is improving safety for pedestrians and drivers.
Not everyone is sold. Some city leaders say the vehicles can, at times, hinder public safety. In the wake of several high-profile incidents over the past 12 months — including the recent death of a beloved duck, an incident in which a Waymo vehicle blocked an ambulance responding to the shooting at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden and reports of autonomous vehicles unsafely passing school buses — skepticism is growing about whether the technology is ready for widespread use. City leaders also say the companies can be opaque about how their systems operate. The latest example: Waymo declined the city’s request to attend a Wednesday special meeting to discuss public safety.
“Thanks for printing out the ‘Reserved for Waymo’ signs,” Council Member Zo Qadri said, referencing empty chairs in front of the dais. “Waymo sadly did not show up.”
Despite growing skepticism at City Hall, local lawmakers have limited authority after Texas banned cities from regulating autonomous vehicles in 2017, leaving oversight largely in the hands of the state. However, additional oversight will come at the end of May, when a new state law goes into effect requiring companies to obtain Texas Department of Motor Vehicles authorization before operating commercially.
“No tech works perfectly, but we’ve managed to keep airline accidents down very low, and that’s because we’ve had a lot of time and experience to perfect, or nearly perfect the system,” said Missy Cummings, director of George Mason University’s Mason Autonomy & Robotics Center, a research hub on autonomous systems. “We’re still years, if not decades, away from something similar to happen to self-driving cars.”
“Austin is being treated as a lab experiment that they didn’t sign up for,” Cummings said. “It’s just a matter of time until someone’s killed.”
How autonomous vehicles took hold in Austin
While the 2025 partnership with Uber accelerated Waymo’s expansion, the company has been rolling out vehicles in Austin since 2023. Waymo is now the dominant operator in the city, but at least five other companies also have vehicles on Austin streets, though not all companies are currently offering rides.
Autonomous vehicles’ introduction has not been without its setbacks. Cruise cars were once everywhere, but after many well-documented incidents, the company suspended its nationwide operations in October 2023 amid eroding public trust.
Despite lacking regulatory authority, the city launched an autonomous vehicle dashboard in 2023 to track incidents involving the vehicles and better understand emerging issues.
Reported incidents have steadily increased since 2023, likely driven in part by the growing number of vehicles on the road, with about 270 total since the dashboard’s launch. Reports include safety concerns, vehicles blocking traffic, failing to comply with police direction and ignoring school bus stop signs.
Waymo points to safety record
“We’ve driven over 200 million miles [across all cities],” David Margines, director of product management at Waymo, told Austin Current. “We have demonstrated a 92% reduction in serious injury collisions as compared to human drivers on the same roads and in the same geographies.”
In one of the most recent high-profile incidents, a Waymo vehicle blocked an ambulance responding to the March 1 shooting at Buford’s that left three people dead and more than a dozen injured. Public safety officials said the delay did not hurt emergency medical response, but the incident nonetheless raised significant safety concerns and prompted Austin City Council members to send a formal letter to the company seeking ways to prevent similar situations.
Margines called the event “anomalous,” and said the company reviews such incidents to prevent recurrence and maintain community trust.
“We recognize that we need to build and maintain the trust in the communities that we operate in,” Margines said. He added that after incidents like the ambulance case, the company evaluates whether “there are things that we can do better, whether we can operate faster and basically get out of the way of emergency vehicles.”
Margines said Waymo is among the safest and most transparent autonomous vehicle companies, saying the company is more forthcoming about collisions than its competitors.
“We are tremendously proud of our track record here in Texas,” Margines said. “When we look at the big picture, people’s lives are being improved because Waymo is out there on the road.”
Austin leaders push for safeguards
Austin City Council Member Paige Ellis, who chairs Austin’s Mobility Committee, said she wants to see more transparency from all autonomous vehicle companies. Public officials have recently criticized Waymo for not providing enough detail about who its remote assistance operators are, their level of training and where they are located.
“Personally, I would love to have more information about those questions,” Ellis told Austin Current. “We as government officials, we thrive on transparency… We need our information to be available to the public. We want people to have information and answers, and private companies don’t necessarily have that charge.”
At the Wednesday special meeting, public safety leaders outlined several issues first responders have encountered in recent months, including autonomous vehicles not responding to emergency workers’ hand signals, remaining on roadways during severe weather events, requiring manual relocation during active emergency scenes and situations in which intoxicated passengers fall asleep during rides and do not wake up.
“The question is not if this is going to turn into a deadly situation but when,” Ellis said at the meeting.
While Austin currently lacks the authority to regulate the vehicles, public safety officials questioned whether future policies might restrict operations during severe weather or allow the city to recoup costs when first responders are required to manually move vehicles blocking active scenes.
The city’s government relations department expressed support for future legislation aimed at strengthening safety requirements.
Austin should do “everything that we can to be a city that does welcome new technology,” Ellis said, “but, first and foremost, has to put our top priority as the life, health and safety of the folks in Austin, Texas.”
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AUSTIN, Texas – We are in the middle of early voting for the runoff elections, and the battle for the Republican nomination for attorney general is heating up.
What they’re saying:
Congressman Chip Roy spent Wednesday morning with members of the Austin Police Association. He came to show support for those wearing the badge and to voice his support for legislative proposals that are focused on liberal district attorneys.
“This is not the same as federalism. Like some people talk about it and say, well, you know, you don’t like the federal government reaching into Texas. Yeah, true. Do I want Austin micromanaging the rest of the state? I do not. But do I think the state has the legal ability? And frankly, I think it’s a moral duty. To make sure that the entire state of Texas is safe for its people? Yes, I do,” said Roy.
Congressman Roy is in a runoff for the GOP Attorney General nomination with state senator Mayes Middleton. The Galveston Republican has also been busy making campaign stops and rallying his supporters.
“You got to go earn this. You got go fight for it. And I am never retreating from Washington DC because I’m never going to Washington DC. I have always known the fight is here. And the most important thing in this race and as attorney general, the number one thing is defeating the left,” said Middleton.
Both candidates are considered staunch conservatives, but neither was included in President Trump’s Tuesday endorsement of current AG Ken Paxton.
President Trump Wednesday morning defended his endorsement of Ken Paxton for the Texas GOP Senate nomination. He made the pick despite recent polls that show Paxton is trailing Democratic nominee James Talarico.
The Paxton endorsement is an example of how the GOP Senate runoff between Paxton and incumbent John Cornyn continues to suck the political air out of all the other runoff races.
FOX 7 asked Roy and Middleton if they were disappointed.
“Well, like I would be honored to have the president’s endorsement, his endorsement in this race here. And look, I’m the pro-Trump candidate,” said Middleton.
Roy also took the presidential pass in stride when asked if he was disappointed no official endorsement had been made in his race.
“We’ve had a lot of great conversations about this race. The president is an engaged guy across the country, but he’s been focusing predominantly on federal races,” said Roy.
Texas runoff elections are almost a month away
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: We are almost a month away from the start of early voting for the May runoff elections. That vote will finalize several big primary races and will kick off the push to the November general election.
Middleton’s campaign has accused Roy of not being a true Trump supporter, citing what the Congressman did and didn’t after Trump’s first-term House Impeachment vote. Roy responded by saying the President knows he is a great ally.
“I’ve delivered on the Big, Beautiful Bill. I’m leading his favorite piece of legislation in his words, the Save America Act. I’m the author of that,” said Roy.
“And we’re delivering a message that’s resonating that you ought to have a real lawyer as your attorney general. Somebody who’s been in court, prosecuted bad guys. Been, the first assistant attorney general run complex litigation not effectively manage your family royalties, never having been in court,” said Roy.
Middleton’s message is also how he is a different kind of conservative than Roy.
“And look, every vote’s going to count. We know turnout is lower in a runoff than it is in the March 3 primary. But the same things that I’m doing. They got me in first place on March 3. I’m going now. And I will make sure that I protect and defend our great state. And I say this as well, a lazy campaigner turns into a lazy elected official.”
The other side:
Texas Democrats are also having a contentious runoff for their AG nomination.
Joe Jaworski, the former mayor of Galveston, and state Senator Nathan Johnson, who is from the DFW Metroplex, have taken a few political and personal shots at each other.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski
As three teens face charges in a string of weekend shootings and robberies, mental health is becoming part of the broader conversation in Austin. One suspect’s mother told KXAN her 15-year-old son had struggled with substance abuse and suicidal thoughts — not as an excuse, she said, but as context for how mental health can affect a young person’s decisions. READ MORE: https://www.kxan.com/news/simplehealth/travis-county-launches-childrens-mental-health-plan-as-teen-crime-case-raises-concerns/
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Severe thunderstorms and flooding are possible in Central Texas Tuesday evening into early Wednesday. Here’s the latest forecast from the First Warning Weather team.
Here are the main headlines:
- A Flash Flood Warning has been issued for northern Burnet and northern Llano counties until midnight.
- A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for central Williamson County until 9:15 p.m.
- A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Blanco, Burnet, northeastern Gillespie, northwestern Hays, southeastern Llano, northwestern Travis and southwestern Williamson counties until 9:15 p.m.
- A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for southern Blanco, Hays, Travis and southwestern Williamson counties until 10 p.m.
- A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for Gillespie, Llano, Mason and San Saba counties until 11 p.m.
- A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Hays, Lampasas, Lee, Milam, Travis and Williamson counties until 1 a.m.
- The Storm Prediction Center has issued a level 2 of 5 (slight) severe weather risk for all of Central Texas. Large hail and strong winds are the main concerns.
- The Weather Prediction Center has issued a level 2 of 4 flood threat for all of Central Texas.
- RESOURCES: Latest forecast | Radar | Rain totals | Download the KXAN Weather app | Sign up for severe weather alerts | 2026 weather data
Live updates
8:54 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for southern Blanco, Hays, Travis and southwestern Williamson counties until 10 p.m. Winds gusts up to 70 mph and quarter-size hail are possible with this storm.
8:49 p.m.: Wind gusts are strengthening in Williamson County. The National Weather Service now says wind gusts of 70 mph are possible, which could cause “considerable tree damage.” A Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in effect until 9:15 p.m.
8:51 p.m.: KXAN’s Grace Reader is monitoring the storms and sent in this video heading towards Marble Falls.
8:35 p.m.: The National Weather Service said the severe thunderstorm in central Williamson County is now capable to producing ping pong ball-sized hail. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in effect until 9:15 p.m.
8:20 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Blanco, Burnet, northeastern Gillespie, northwestern Hays, southeastern Llano, northwestern Travis and southwestern Williamson counties until 9:15 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail are possible with this storm.
8:18 p.m.: Texas Game Wardens have been activated and are prepared to provide support in areas affected by the potential severe weather.
8:11 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for central Williamson County until 9:15 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail are possible with this storm.
8:10 p.m.: KXAN’s Jordan Belt is monitoring the storms and sent in this video from Burnet.
7:51 p.m.: KXAN’s Grace Reader is monitoring the storms and sent in this video from just north of Burnet.
7:45 p.m.: A Flash Flood Warning has been issued for northern Burnet and northern Llano counties until midnight.
7:43 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for central Burnet County until 8:30 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail are possible with this storm.
7:40 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for northwestern Williamson County until 8:15 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail are possible with this storm.
7:28 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for western Burnet county and Llano County until 8:30 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible with this storm.
7:16 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Northeastern Burnet County until 8:15 p.m. Ping pong ball-sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible with this storm.
7:06 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Southeastern Lampasas County until 8:15 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail are possible with this storm.
6:56 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for northern Williamson County until 7:30 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and half dollar-sized hail are possible with this storm.
6:55 p.m.: KXAN’s Grace Reader is monitoring the storms and sent in this video from just south of Lampasas.
6:45 p.m.: KXAN’s Grace Reader is monitoring the storms and sent in these photos from Marble Falls.
6:33 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Burnet County, northern Llano County and northwestern Williamson County until 7:30 p.m. Ping pong ball-sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible with this storm.
6:27 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for northeastern Williamson County until 7:15 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail are possible with this storm.
6:12 p.m.: The Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been extended to include Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Hays, Lampasas, Lee, Milam, Travis and Williamson counties until 1 a.m.
6:11 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for northwestern Mason County until 7:15 p.m. Golf ball-sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible with this storm.
5:54 p.m.: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for western Burnet and central Llano counties until 6:45 p.m. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail are possible with this storm.
3:56 p.m.: The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Gillespie, Llano, Mason and San Saba counties. It will be in effect until 11 p.m.
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