Waymo, the autonomous driving subsidiary of Google, recently initiated a voluntary recall affecting about 3,800 robotaxis after one of its self-driving vehicles entered a flooded roadway without properly recognizing the danger. The incident has renewed concerns over the safety of fully driverless autonomous vehicles while highlighting a growing industry challenge: robotaxi operators must increasingly handle not only unexpected road hazards but also severe and rapidly changing weather conditions to achieve broader commercialization. According to Reuters and Autoweek on May 12 local time, heavy rain in San Antonio, Texas, on April 20 caused flooding across multiple roads, and one Waymo vehicle entered a deeply flooded area. No passengers were inside the vehicle at the time. Waymo said it decided to recall approximately 3,800 robotaxis and deploy software updates to review how its autonomous driving system failed to properly recognize the hazard and how similar flooding scenarios should be handled in the future. The recall affects vehicles equipped with Waymo's fifth- and sixth-generation autonomous driving systems (ADS). According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Waymo filed for a voluntary recall on April 30. The company also implemented temporary software updates to strengthen weather-related driving restrictions and updated mapping systems to better identify flood-prone areas. In a statement, Waymo said it is improving its autonomous driving system's response framework for extreme weather conditions, restricting access to regions vulnerable to sudden flooding and adding additional software safety safeguards. Waymo currently operates robotaxi services in multiple U.S. cities including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin while expanding into more complex operating environments such as London and Tokyo that involve broader weather variability. Although the recall once again highlights ongoing safety concerns surrounding autonomous driving incidents, recent market research reports suggest the autonomous vehicle industry is moving beyond experimental stages toward commercial