Waymo has temporarily paused its driverless car service in Nashville, Atlanta, and Texas following an incident where one of its autonomous vehicles became stranded in flash floodwaters in Atlanta. The event, captured on video, shows the car attempting to drive through rising water before coming to a stop, raising concerns about AI decision-making in extreme weather. The pause was announced as a precaution ahead of forecasted severe weather, not just in response to the single incident. Since launching in Nashville in April, Waymo’s vehicles have faced challenges including navigating construction zones, traveling on the wrong side of the road, and stalling in heavy traffic. Experts note these issues reflect the 'long-tail problem'—AI systems struggling with rare or unpredictable real-world scenarios. While researchers affirm the vehicles are generally safe under normal conditions, this event underscores the difficulty of scaling autonomous driving to diverse and dynamic environments. Waymo has not specified when service will resume in the affected cities.