Washington Post – Major robotaxi firms face federal safety investigations after crashes
Washington Post reports that all of the major robotaxi companies are now under federal investigation for safety issues.
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Waymo
Waymo is fortunate to have a better reputation than the rest, but their incident rate is still not acceptable…
Read MoreWashington Post – Major robotaxi firms face federal safety investigations after crashes
NBC Bay Area – School crossing guards say they’ve had to dodge driverless cars to avoid being hit
NBC Bay Area investigation finds that many San Francisco crossing guards have had scary "close calls" with robotaxis.
12News.com – Waymo vehicle involved in Phoenix crash
Somehow a Waymo was driving down a slow alley in Phoenix yet managed to hit a very large pole with enough speed to crumple the front end. The waiting passengers were not impressed and did not accept the offer of a replacement Waymo, one which got stuck at the crash scene.
arsTechnica – Feds probe Waymo driverless cars hitting parked cars, drifting into traffic
arsTechnica provides further information on the NHTSA investigation into "unexpected behavior" by Waymo's robotaxis. 22 reports of the cars malfunctioning!
Waymos are bad drivers too
The recent torching of a Waymo robotaxi shows that there simply is no smooth sailing for the company. Sure, they might drive somewhat better than Cruise vehicles. But they still have serious flaws that show that long term viability is doubtful. Plus they do stupid things, and when they do they are quite vulnerable. Therefore they have now become the target of robotaxi ire.
SF Chronicle – A Waymo robotaxi drove on wrong side of a S.F. street. The company says it was to ensure ‘safety’
SF Chronicle article on how Waymo drove across double yellow line into oncoming traffic for two full blocks. And Waymo describes the motivation as 'safety'? Hah! Full video of incident is included for your viewing enjoyment.
AI Addict – Single video shows problems with Tesla FSD and with Waymo
Fascinating AI Addict video shows how Tesla FSD 12 is an utter failure and how Waymos have their own big problems.
Forbes – Waymo Runs A Red Light And The Difference Between Humans And Robots
Forbes article on how a Waymo ran through a red light, causing a rider of a scooter to crash. The vehicle was being remotely operated, and the operator apparently didn't see the red traffic signal. This shows that Waymo has a backup system, but it is not safe either.
Grey’s Anatomy’s Errant Robotaxi
For Season 20 Episode 1, Grey's Anatomy decided to up the current drama and costar a misbehaving robotaxi named "Wayne". And of course the emergency folks try to cone Wayne to get it to stop crashing into the ambulance where they are doing emergency surgery. All of the relevant clips have been put together into a short video so you don't have to wade through the whole show.
Instead of providing safety data, Waymo provides other data to get almost free labor
Waymo announces another data challenge, but still refuses to provide safety related data. And they are only paying in Google Cloud credits.
Support California bills to regulate AVs
Three additional California bills to regulate AVs have been sent to committee and need your support. This post contains simple instructions on how to send letters of support and provides templates, making it really easy for you to help.
Autonomous vehicle updates and actions – March 13, 2024
Newsletter from Sue Vaughan from Burning Planet. Contains autonomous vehicle legislation updates and information on how you can provide support.
Wall Street Journal – Self-Driving Cars Enter the Next Frontier: Freeways
Article from WSJ on how Waymo will soon be expanding to driverless service on freeways in Phoenix. This is of course key for providing more lucrative airport service. But driving at freeway speeds is of course inherently more dangerous.
TechCrunch – Waymo to launch commercial robotaxi service in Austin by end of the year
Article from TechCrunch on Waymo starting service in Los Angeles this week, and in Austin by end of the year.
Forbes – Waymo Launches Its Robotaxi Service In Los Angeles
Article from Forbes on how on March 14th Waymo will launch robotaxi service in Los Angeles. Will be limited at first, but then expand. This comes at a time when other companies, in particular Cruise, are facing setbacks.
