The Waymo eased down Olympic Blvd. and three kids leaned out of its windows like they owned the road. A witness counted one so small he looked eight, and she followed the car for miles with a phone trembling in her hand. I watched the clips and felt the two instincts — laugh, then clutch my chest — collide.
They hung half out the windows — and someone filmed it – What happened on Olympic Blvd.
I spoke with people who saw the clip and read the witness report by Rojia Shashavani to KTLA and the LA Times. You can see three teens perched on the Waymo’s window ledges, one so small he might have been eight or nine; they’re taking selfies and drinking an energy drink as the vehicle moves. Waymo later told reporters two of the three sat on the ledges briefly and that the account used for the trip was suspended after the company was alerted.
A witness tailed the car for miles — and tried to get Waymo to stop – How bystanders and company support reacted
Shashavani said she followed the car and called Waymo while it was still moving. According to her, operators told her they could stop the ride but that “it’s not the right place to stop the car.” I can hear the frustration in her voice: you’re watching something reckless on the street and the corporate control center is insisting on policy over immediacy.
Can teens ride Waymo alone?
No, generally not. Waymo’s published terms bar minors without an accompanying adult except in specific pilot rules in Phoenix for authorized teen accounts. Still, Business Insider and other outlets have shown that age checks are often verbal: operators will interrupt a trip to ask if a rider is 18 or the account holder, but they rarely demand ID on the spot.
They waved off the witness with an Italian joke — and kept going – What the footage reveals about incentives
Shashavani said one of the teens told her he “only spoke Italian,” then kept the stunt going. That shrug—call it bravado or social signaling—helps explain why this keeps happening: the social payoff is immediate, the institutional cost is delayed. They were a flash mob of helium risk; the photo gets likes before anyone faces consequences.
How does Waymo verify age and identity?
Waymo says it has rules and operators who can intervene. The company has experimented with age-verification cameras and human checks during rides, per Business Insider, but the system is imperfect. Operators can “card” riders verbally, interrupt trips, or suspend accounts after complaints, which is what happened here. Google/Alphabet’s Waymo unit faces a hard truth: software can steer cars, but it can’t always stop a human stunt in real time.
They ignored seatbelts — and the rules are written for adults, not stunts – What the policies miss
It’s likely these kids violated Waymo’s seatbelt and minor-accompaniment rules. Waymo’s public support pages spell out that minors can’t ride alone except in limited Phoenix accounts for 14–17-year-olds. Yet enforcement depends on account holders, operator checks, and post-trip moderation. That gap is the weak link between policy and behavior.
What happens if you break Waymo’s rules?
Consequences range from account suspension (this case) to possible bans and reports to parents or local authorities, depending on severity. I asked myself: will suspension matter to a kid who pulled this off for clout? The short answer is probably not enough; parents and cities now face the work of making the social cost match the physical risk.
A city street turned into a viral stunt stage — and companies scramble – Why this matters beyond a single clip
This was more than a silly video. It’s a data point about how autonomous fleets interact with human unpredictability in dense urban settings. Waymo, KTLA, the LA Times, and social platforms are part of the feedback loop: clips go viral, companies react, and regulators watch. You should care because the next stunt could end in serious harm, and the public trust in driverless tech is fragile.
The narrative here is simple: teens chasing attention, a company trying to enforce policies at scale, and a public that watches and judges. The stunt was a glittering dare painted on a moving tin can, and the only brakes were a suspended account and a witness with a phone. If you run a fleet, parent a child who texts and brags, or sit on a council considering AV rules, how would you close the gap between policy and real-time safety?
Waymo operator just interrupted my trip on rider support to verify that I was over 18.
Honestly…. Thank you?!
— Christina Melas-Kyriazi (@ChristinaPhili5) May 15, 2026