Waymo Rain | TechManPat

A driverless ride in Phoenix

TechManPat booked a Waymo autonomous vehicle through the app to travel from a hotel in Scottsdale to Old Town in Phoenix, Arizona. The service operates within a geofenced area, meaning the vehicle can only provide rides in locations where its autonomous driving system is authorised to operate.

The ride was described as slightly cheaper than an Uber or Lyft, and there was no driver to tip. The vehicle arrived without a person in the driver’s seat, and the passenger started the journey through the car’s touchscreen after buckling up.

How the Waymo performed in normal conditions

During the first part of the trip, Pat said the Waymo drove in a way that felt similar to a car being operated by a human. The vehicle used a large number of sensors and provided instructions not to touch the steering wheel or other controls.

The Jaguar-based vehicle had leather seats, space for luggage, ISOFIX points and seating for four people. Pat also described the interior as very clean. The driver’s seat was locked down and passengers were not permitted to sit there.

Pat noted that Waymo vehicles do not necessarily stop at the exact location requested. Instead, they may use designated parking zones or areas that the system knows how to reach. The geofenced operating area was described as sizeable, but the vehicle could not be ordered outside it.

Heavy rain exposes a limitation

The more difficult part of the experience occurred during heavy rain in Phoenix. The transcript states that the city had experienced its heaviest rainfall in seven years on 26 September 2025, with widespread flooding and submerged roads. Waymo temporarily suspended operations across the valley during the flooding, according to the report included in the video.

Pat encountered large puddles and what he described as flash flooding during the ride. The planned journey was expected to take about 10 minutes, but the vehicle became stuck for roughly 20 additional minutes. It repeatedly drove in circles while trying to turn into a street, appeared to avoid puddles, and moved left and right on the road.

Pat considered contacting customer support. Eventually, the vehicle completed a loop and continued along a straight road from another direction, passing through the lights it had previously struggled to approach. The ride ended successfully, and Pat received a $10 voucher on his account.

Safety and expansion claims

The video cites figures stating that Waymo had completed more than 10 million paid taxi rides by mid-2025 and was operating about 1,500 taxis across the United States, with plans to increase that number to 3,500 by 2026.

It also cites more than 56.7 million rider-only miles and a claim of 96% fewer intersection injury crashes than benchmark human drivers. For Arizona, the video states that Waymo vehicles had driven 35 million miles since 2020 and had been involved in 202 crashes, with Waymo not at fault in 76% of those cases.

These figures are presented in the video and are not independently assessed here. The rain-related incident shows that strong performance in ordinary conditions does not remove the need to handle unusual road and weather situations safely.