--- title: "Protesters Have Figured Out They Can Block Waymos and Berate Their Passengers While the Cars Are Paralyzed" description: "A trio of Waymo passengers found themselves trapped inside their robotaxi as an irate protestor battered the vehicle." date: "2026-03-27" modified: "2026-03-27" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/waymo-protestor-trapped" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" --- # Protesters Have Figured Out They Can Block Waymos and Berate Their Passengers While the Cars Are Paralyzed ![A close-up of a human hand pressed against a surface of cracked glass, with the cracks radiating around the hand. The background is dark, highlighting the hand and the broken glass.]() *Getty / Futurism* Tech boosters might love them, but Waymo's self-driving cars aren't exactly currying favor with John Q Public. In the past few months, the company's robotaxis have [blocked first responders](), [drained government resources](), and killed [beloved]() [pets](). It might be a different story if they were publicly owned and operated, but Waymo — a subsidiary of Google's parent company, Alphabet — is a for-profit entity, giving the whole operation an [insidious optics problem](). Doug Fulop, a tech industry worker in the San Francisco bay area, is one of Waymo's aforementioned boosters. In January, he met one of the company's detractors head-on — through the windshield of one of the robotaxis. According [to the *New York Times*](), Fulop and two passengers were inside a Waymo one January night when they were beset by an irate protestor, who proceeded to punch the robotaxi's windows and berate the riders with death threats for six minutes. Waymo cabs are programmed to stop dead in their tracks if a human being is detected in close proximity — resulting in [agonizing gridlock]() if the cars wind up in situations with a lot of nearby foot traffic. It's a baked in safety mechanism that [anti-Waymo protestors]() have been keen to take advantage of. "We felt helpless," Fulop told the newspaper. "If he had kept hammering on one window instead of alternating, I'm sure he would have eventually broken through." According to Fulop's telling, the man became distracted after a crowd formed to cheer on his tirade. Police and Waymo customer service had been called, neither of which were much help in the moment. Still, the supportive crowd managed to snare the attention of the lone protestor, giving the Waymo enough room to roll on. For his part, Fulop said he avoided hailing any Waymos for some time after the incident, and that he'll avoid the vehicles at night until the company updates its pedestrian safety policy. "As passengers, we deserve more safety than that if someone is trying to attack us," the tech worker told the *NYT*. "This can't be the policy to be trapped there." **More on Waymo:** *[Woman Sues Tesla After Cybertruck Tries to Drive Her Off Bridge]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()