Waymo Hits a Rough Patch in Washington, DC
Wired reports that Washington DC politicians have seen how things have gone elsewhere and want some good answers about safety before allowing Waymo to operate in the city.
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Politics
Cars, being fast moving and heavy, are quite dangerous. They should be well regulated for safety. But it turns out regulations can be bought and paid for by lobbying money…
Read MoreWaymo Hits a Rough Patch in Washington, DC
KTLA 5 – California union believes Waymos should be off the streets
KTLA reports that the California Teamsters union is pushing to get Waymo robotaxis off the streets due to them recently hitting and injuring a child and also going passed stopped school buses illegally.
TechCrunch – Waymo probed by National Transportation Safety Board over illegal school bus behavior
TechCrunch reports that Waymo is under yet another investigation for violating traffic safety laws and passing by stopped school buses, some with children crossing the street. This investigation is by the National Transportation Safety Board. They do not actually regulate the Waymo robotaxis, but they are experts in conducting safety investigations.
SF Chronicle – Parents are letting teens ride in Waymos without an adult. That poses a dilemma for the company
SF Chronicle reports that parents continue to knowingly break California regulations and allow their kids to ride in Waymos unaccompanied. And Waymo doesn't seem to care in the least that they are regularly violating their state permit. What could possibly go wrong??
SF Chronicle – Waymo scolded by judge after robotaxi company refuses to discuss details from power outage
SF Chronicle reports that Waymo continues to try to hide necessary safety related information about the extensive problems that occurred during the power blackout. They clearly are trying their best to not work with the regulators.
SF Chronicle – Inside Daniel Lurie’s handling of Waymo crisis during S.F. power outages
SF Chronicle reports on the buffonery that occurred between City Hall and Waymo during the recent power outage. Clearly neither the city nor Waymo was prepared for such a serious problem.
And it is definitely past time for Mayor Lurie to acknowledge that illegally allowing Waymos on car-free Market Street was a huge mistake on his part.
SF Chronicle – Waymos are now coming for your coveted San Francisco parking spots
SF Chronicle reports that even more San Franciscans are going to be upset with Waymo now that they are regularly taking up public parking spaces.
The Telegraph – Driverless cars promise a revolution. But can they handle the British weather?
The Telegraph reports that Waymos and other robotaxis will be coming to England. But also notes that some of their "supervisors" are located all the over in the Philippines. Sure hope nothing goes wrong (as it has many times in San Francisco)!
Waymo continues to mislead public on what happened during the San Francisco blackout
Waymo finally acknowledges that its vehicles are not autonomous and that they need human help when encountering complicated situations, such as traffic signals being out during a power outage. Yet they continue to mislead the public. The blackout caused the 5G cellular system that Waymo uses to go down, making human help impossible. The vehicles needing human help is an inherent and unfixable problem for the current Waymo driving system.
NY Times – China Delays Plans for Mass Production of Self-Driving Cars After Accident
NY Times reports on how China is now delaying their plans for widespread adoption of robotaxis. It turns out that they are no where near safe enough for full autonomy.
SF Standard – WTF happened to Waymo during the blackout? Industry experts have some guesses
SF Standard reports on how the Waymo problem in San Francisco was due to both to traffic signals going out and Waymo's reliance on the cellular system to use actual humans when there are unusual problems. There will be hearings on both the culpability of PG&E and of Waymo.
NY Times – After Power Outage, San Francisco Wonders: Can Robot Taxis Handle a Big Earthquake?
NY Times reports on how Waymo robotaxis would cause significant problems when the next big earthquake hits San Francisco.
NY Times – Waymo Suspended Service in San Francisco After Its Cars Stalled During Power Outage
NY Times reports on the widespread Waymo outage in San Francisco during a power failure. The allegedly autonomous Waymos turn out to depend on the cellular system to operate. But the truly scary thing is that Waymo did not even have a contingency plan. They had to be told by the Mayor's Office to suspend service.
Mission Local – Waymo halts service during massive S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams
Mission Local reports on the disaster that was Waymo during a power outage. 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 doesn't work when power goes out for a while.
The Register – California DMV tells Tesla to ease off on those Autopilot claims
The Register reports that the California DMV is not at all happy with Tesla's marketing the "Autopilot" system. They have found Tesla to be in violation. If they do not update their marketing materials within 60 days they will be suspended from sales in California for 30 days.
