Mission Local – Waymo halts service during massive S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams
Editors note: Waymos were stuck all over, blocking traffic and emergency access. This was due to the vehicles not actually being truly autonomous, but instead on relying on cellular communication that apparently Waymo didn’t realize stops working when power goes out for a while! No software update can address this inherent part of their design. Just imagine if San Francisco … had an earthquake!!
See original article by Joe Rivano Barros at Mission Local
Waymo said Saturday that it was stopping service across San Francisco after numerous online videos showed its autonomous vehicles snarling traffic during the citywide blackout.
“We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services given the broad power outage in San Francisco,” wrote Suzanne Philion, a company spokesperson, a little after 7 p.m. “We are focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work.”
About a third of San Francisco lost electricity throughout the day Saturday after rolling Pacific Gas & Electric Co. blackouts hit some 125,000 homes and businesses. PG&E said at 8:30 p.m. that power should start to be restored “later this evening.”
Traffic lights across the city were down, seemingly confusing the driverless cars — and halting them in their tracks. Riders and pedestrians posted videos of Waymos stuck at intersections, long lines of drivers behind them.
Many of the videos and images showed Waymos lined up one behind the other, with human drivers passing them by.
Groups of two, three, as many as five [ten!] Waymos were stalled at different corners across the city, blinking red lights in the rain.
See original article by Joe Rivano Barros at Mission Local
