Baidu Apollo (萝卜快跑) — Wuhan, China
Location
Wuhan, China — urban road
Wuhan urban area, during evening rush hour
Description
A 萝卜快跑 (Luobo Kuaipao) robotaxi stalled during evening rush hour traffic in Wuhan, blocking traffic flow. The vehicle stopped mid-road and was unable to resume autonomous driving. The incident occurred during the peak of public scrutiny following the pedestrian contact incident days earlier. Traffic congestion resulted as other vehicles had to navigate around the stalled robotaxi. The incident highlighted concerns about robotaxi fleet resilience during high-traffic periods.
Impact
Vehicles
1
Duration
30 min
Injuries
0
Fatalities
0
Traffic disruption: moderate
Emergency Response
Resolution: on-site technician manually moved the vehicle
Root Cause
software freeze / planning failure
Vehicle entered a state where the planning module could not find a viable path, resulting in indefinite stop in active traffic lane
⚠️ Unconfirmed / Under investigation
Systemic Issues
- Mid-road stalling creates safety hazard and traffic disruption
- Rush hour complexity may exceed current planning module capabilities
- Remote intervention unable to resolve frozen planning state
- Physical human response required adds significant delay
Regulatory Action
No formal regulatory action. Incident contributed to public pressure on Wuhan city government regarding the pace of robotaxi deployment.