Food-delivery robots have been kicked, tipped over and tangled in sidewalk traffic in U.S. cities, producing viral videos, arrests and questions about safety and regulation.
Fox News reported on Nov. 5, 2026, that incidents have been recorded in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and other cities, and that companies and city officials are responding to concerns about pedestrian access, collisions and privacy.
In Philadelphia, an Uber Eats delivery robot was reportedly kicked twice in late March 2026, with the second kick knocking the machine over near a parking garage, Fox News reported. The people involved later set the robot back on its wheels.
Fox News also reported that on Oct. 14 police arrested 78-year-old retired University of Pennsylvania professor Carolyn Marvin after she deliberately blocked an Uber Eats delivery robot; the article noted that Pennsylvania law requires delivery robots to yield to pedestrians in pedestrian areas.
Other episodes cited by Fox News include a September 2026 video from Chicago showing a cluster of Coco delivery robots blocking a sidewalk; Coco told the outlet the event was caused by a deployment error that the company said it fixed within minutes and that it added safeguards to prevent recurrence.
Fox News reported a May 2026 incident in which a delivery robot reportedly entered a crosswalk against a signal and was struck by a truck; the story said the damaged robot continued moving afterward.
On industry scale, Fox News cited Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani as telling Semafor in April 2026 that mistreatment occurred on fewer than 1% of about 100,000 trips reported by the company. The article said Serve reported deploying 2,000 robots by the end of 2025 and reported approximately $2.7 million in revenue for 2025 while recording substantial losses.
Cities are responding with reviews and pilot programs, Fox News reported: Glendale, California, approved a one-year pilot in September 2026 allowing up to two delivery-robot operators and adopted an ordinance requiring operating agreements for deployments, and the Los Angeles City Council approved a motion in November 2025 calling for a review of existing delivery-robot regulations.
The Fox News story also raised privacy and accessibility questions, noting that most delivery robots use cameras and sensors and that some companies are pursuing accessibility partnerships — for example, Coco Robotics’ work with the BlindSquare app to share information about sidewalk obstacles.
Fox News concluded that while most deliveries appear to proceed without incident, the companies behind these robots continue deployments amid regulatory scrutiny and calls for clearer rules on where and how the machines may operate.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
