Driverless “robotaxis” and rideshare options are becoming increasingly common and popular for people as they travel the country or just run errands near home and prefer to catch a ride rather than drive and park themselves.
As such, lawful gun owners and those who regularly travel with or carry concealed firearms must be knowledgeable and aware of the policies and terms of service of these convenient businesses.
The new robotaxi service Waymo comes to mind. Waymo robotaxis operate without a driver and are now providing transportation services in at least 15 major cities across the country, including in Arizona, Texas, California, Georgia, Nevada, Florida, Tennessee and Colorado. More cities are slated to join the list in the coming months and years as well.
But considering the circumstances surrounding the company’s recent actions and their hard-to-find terms of service, law-abiding gun owners and those who choose to lawfully carry concealed firearms should hesitate before choosing Waymo until further notice.
Terms Are Clear
Waymo explicitly states in its terms of service that no weapons or firearms are allowed in their vehicles. It’s surprisingly (unsurprisingly, maybe?) difficult to find any mention of “weapons” or “firearms” on their webpage, as if they’re purposefully evading public scrutiny of the policy. It takes quite a bit of digging to find the specific “Waymo Rider Rules” that mention the firearm ban. But under its terms of service, Waymo strictly prohibits firearms in their vehicles. It’s a “zero tolerance policy.”
“Our Services are solely intended to provide you and your permitted guests with transportation for personal, non-commercial purposes between locations within our active service areas,” Waymo states. “In connection with your use of the Services, you agree that you and your guests will not… Carry any weapons (or anything that resembles a weapon, e.g. toy gun) in our cars.”
Watchful Eye
What’s also crystal clear is that Waymo proactively monitors the passenger cabins in their vehicles to watch customers. Recent news reports have demonstrated a few examples demonstrating that passenger monitoring happens often, if not at all times. In fact, Waymo is clear about the fact that their vehicles have interior cameras that record passengers.
“Waymo’s robotaxis are equipped with cameras and microphones outside and inside the cars. The company said in public material that the in-cabin cameras are ‘on and recording,’” Business Insider reported earlier this year. “Its support team may also review recorded video after an issue is reported and, ‘in more urgent circumstances,’ access live video of the trip.”
During a July, 2026 incident, Waymo pulled one of its vehicles over, misled the passengers about the reason why (they told the passengers through an audio speaker only that the “vehicle was experiencing issues”) and alerted police. The cabin monitors stated they suspected there was a firearm in the cabin.
In an additional example of the cabin monitoring policy and the inconsistencies that go along with it, Waymo told regulators in California that it “uses its interior-camera checks to flag possible violations and that it could not always reliably determine age for ‘older teens.’”
Choose Wisely
Waymo is free to operate where it wants (should local politicians and regulators approve it) and under whatever terms of services it chooses. For law-abiding gun owners, other transportation options exist that can avoid any unnecessary or unwanted headaches, or worse, that could arise if an antigun “robotaxi” service alerts police.
Waymo already stated it isn’t sure it can always peg who’s a minor and who’s a law-abiding adult. What would the company do if a passenger who is unfamiliar with Waymo policies and who lawfully carries a concealed firearm, or is maybe using the service to go to a neighborhood shooting range, adjusts a shirt and reveals a lawfully owned firearm?
It seems that Waymo could possibly mislead the passenger, pull the car over and alert law enforcement authorities. If a law-abiding gun owner is unknowingly traveling through a municipality that institutes stricter gun control laws than other municipalities on the travel route, that could lead to major problems and turn unwitting law-abiding Americans into criminals in a matter of minutes.
Until or unless Waymo updates its terms of service, lawful gun owners would do well to choose other modes of transportation when traveling with their firearms. Don’t make yourself a criminal.
Flock then this is getting waymo than wanted or needed: This Waymo Incident Shows How Quickly Self-Driving Cars Could Become Rolling Surveillance Pods
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“It seems that Waymo could possibly mislead the passenger, pull the car over and alert law enforcement authorities. If a law-abiding gun owner is unknowingly traveling through a municipality that institutes stricter gun control laws than other municipalities on the travel route, that could lead to major problems and turn unwitting law-abiding Americans into criminals in a matter of minutes.”
Way more issues than that. For example, what if the waymo takes a law abiding gun carrier through a school zone, or through some other ‘no guns’ zone an anti-gun jurisdiction has set up.