Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
All the robotaxi companies claim that their safety is much better than obsolete human drivers. But are they really safer given that they seem to crash so often? This clearly needs to be investigated further.
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 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.
KRON4 reports that Waymo still has not answered the basic question of how did that person get into the Waymo. Also, note that the mother violated the safety rules which specifically disallow minors from riding unaccompanied.
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.
San Antonio News reports on a video showing a Waymo blatantly going the wrong way down a one-way frontage road. Better than human drivers???
TechCrunch reports that Tesla has started testing their "robotaxis" without safety drivers, even though they clearly do not yet have the technology to do so safely.
First time Waymo rider gets quite the fright when their Waymo cuts in front of another driver.
SF Chronicle reports that an odd hitch hiker was found in the back of a Waymo. We have questions ere. First, how old was daughter that the ride was being arranged for?? It is not allowed to send a child alone in a Waymo because clearly unexpected things might happen. Second, with all the sensors and supposed technology how did a really odd person sneak into the vehicle?? Third, wouldn't a human driver have prevented this from ever happening??
NY Times reports on what actually happened when a Waymo robotaxi ran over and killed another animal. It should be noted that the cat did not suddenly dart in front of the vehicle as it pulled away, as Waymo claimed. Instead, a bystander stood in front of the vehicle and tried to lure out the cat, and that the vehicle did not realize that the cat was in danger. A human driver would have of course noticed that a person was trying to get the cat from under the car.
TechCrunch reports on how complaints on Tesla's behaving dangerously just keep on piling up.
TechCrunch reports on how NHTSA is now investigating 19 cases where a Waymo illegally passed a stopped school bus. 19 times!
KQED reports that San Francisco is planning on letting all commercial vehicles on "car-free" Market Street based on completely flawed testing.
CBS Austin reports video evidence of Waymo vehicles illegally passing school buses 19 times. Further evidence that Waymo vehicles simply are not designed to follow traffic safety laws.
NBC News reports on how a Waymo vehicle blithely drove into a police situation where the police had their guns drawn. It is clear that Waymos cannot handle unusual situations, especially when first responders are involved.
While the title is correct, we do need to change course, the opinion piece is just another tech fantasy. The truth is that the data show that the solution for safety is clearly better designed streets and better safety policies. Simply look at Europe to see how safety can be greatly improved through street design, not robotaxis.
