VIDEO: Waymo robotaxi runs red light at busy Dallas intersection

Robotaxi services under scrutiny in Texas

Several crashes and incidents involving robotaxis across Texas have the autonomous vehicles under scrutiny. FOX 4's Lori Brown has more.

DALLAS - Newly released video shows a Waymo self-driving vehicle running a red light and navigating through moving traffic at a busy Dallas intersection.

While the company is working to address the issue, at least one research scientist believes the technology still needs work.

Waymo Robotaxi Runs Red Light

What we know:

A FOX 4 viewer captured dash camera video of the robotaxi on Irving Boulevard over the weekend.

It shows the Waymo vehicle entering the intersection against a red light. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and nearby drivers managed to avoid a collision.

"It kept going forward, going forward, almost like it was going to make a turn. And I was like, ‘Oh this is interesting. It doesn’t know what to do.’ And then it just drives right out into the intersection in the traffic. And thankfully no one hit the Waymo or there were no wrecks," the viewer said.

He said he felt a responsibility to share what he saw but didn’t want to share his name because of his technology-oriented job.

What they're saying:

In a statement to FOX 4, Waymo claimed the traffic light was "heavily dimmed" when viewed from the right-turn lane. The company said it is actively taking steps to address the issue.

"Safety is our highest priority at Waymo—for our riders and everyone with whom we share the road," Waymo said in a statement.

The other side:

Neel Bhatt is a research scientist with the Center for Economy at the University of Texas at Austin. He believes the technology used to ensure safety with autonomous vehicles still needs work, and he suggests that a slower rollout might be better.

"Coming from a research standpoint, I think there are a lot of things that we need to solve," Bhatt said. "We can train them based on data and try to mimic behaviors of humans, but they’re faced with different scenarios that maybe are not in the data that they’re trained on, they will not work well."

He does believe the technology will eventually catch up.

"It’s better to be safe than sorry," he said.

Autonomous Vehicle Safety

Dig deeper:

Waymo launched its Dallas operations in February, but the expansion has been met with concern following a string of incidents across Texas and other states. 

In Austin, police reported that robotaxis have failed to follow hand signals from officers and have driven around barricades into closed construction zones. Additionally, Austin ISD released several videos showing Waymo vehicles illegally passing school buses while their red lights were flashing and stop arms were deployed.

"One incident is too many," said Lt. Will White of the Austin Police Department. "One of those vehicles not recognizing a school bus arm and passing it is surprising for a system that's supposed to be significantly safer than humans."

Federal investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed they are analyzing 16 crashes involving autonomous vehicles in Dallas and Austin.

They are also investigating an incident in Santa Monica, California where a Waymo vehicle allegedly failed to use caution in a school zone and struck a child. That child reportedly suffered minor injuries.

Waymo recently filed for a voluntary software recall with the NHTSA related to extreme weather operations. The move comes after a Waymo entered a flooded lane in San Antonio during extreme weather. The vehicle was empty and there were no injuries.

Waymo said the recall and investigations will not disrupt its service in Dallas.