Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Waymo is fortunate to have a better reputation than the rest, but their incident rate is still not acceptable…
SF Chronicle reports on the latest robotaxi use: juveniles riding around brandishing a loaded ghost assault rifle. Remarkably, Waymo is not allowed to transport unaccompanied juveniles. They are fully responsible for this incident.
Streetsblog USA reports that Waymo has not complied with disability laws. They have not provided accessible options in Nevada even though clearly required by the law.
SF Gazetteer reports that Waymo receives a phenomenal number of parking tickets in San Francisco. Clearly this means that the vehicles have been programmed to not follow traffic laws.
Bay Area Current reports on how autonomous vehicles really aren't that autonomous at all. All sorts of work is done by marginally employed humans who have to deal with the nastiest proclivities of Waymo riders.
SF Chronicle reports on a what a parent saw as a near miss when their child tripped in a crosswalk. The main question is why are Waymos behaving aggressively, even on Slow Streets, even when small children are present. If the vehicle detected that a small child was crossing the street shouldn't it have then behaved more cautiously?
CBS News reports that yet another Waymo was part of crash due to it stopping in the middle of a street (though other driver considered legally at fault). And like many other Waymo incidences, the Waymo vehicle was empty at the time, driving around being a hazard without actually providing passenger service at the time.
NY Times reports that those "edge cases" just keep on coming and Waymo is not able to handle them.
MSN reports that Waymo for the third time was an involved party to a traffic fatality.
The Frisc does important reporting on how information on Waymos has become less available as their problems have increased greatly. Politicians pretend to be trying to address the issue but really are just passing the buck.
SF Standard reports that SF Mayor Lurie is finally realizing that robotaxis need better regulation. Unfortunately instead of doing something about the problem locally (restrict robotaxis from large events) he passes the buck to legislation that will not pass, making it look like he is doing something when actually he is not.
WSB-TV2 and FOX5 report on how a Waymo burned to the ground after being in a collision. Fortunately there were no passengers because there is a good chance they would not have been able to exit the vehicle in time.
Los Angeles Times reports on yet another Waymo crash, this one involving multiple injuries. Waymo will try to hide behind their vehicle not being at legal fault. But the issue isn't a legal one. It is about how to avoid such crashes in the first place. The best way to avoid crashes is to have fewer cars, something Waymo does the opposite of.
The Financial TImes confirms that Waymo and Uber are most definitely getting a divorce.
SF Standard reports that Mayor Lurie is finally realizing that Waymos are causing repeated problems in San Francisco and that more regulations are needed for robotaxis.
SF Chronicle reports that Waymo cars still are not able to handle traffic signal outages and had to temporarily discontinue service in areas of San Francisco.
