That an autonomous car stops if it detects a person nearby is not just a function, it is the most basic thing to make it safe. The problem is when the person nearby is not simply crossing a pedestrian crossing, but is trying to attack passengers. This is what happened in San Francisco in January.
The incident. They tell it in the New York Times. Last January, three passengers were returning home in a Waymo robotaxi when a man suddenly stepped in front of the vehicle and began banging on the windows while berating them for “giving money to a robot.” If it had been a normal car, they could have reversed and avoided the man, but what happened was that the car was blocked with them inside while the attacker continued to threaten them. The incident lasted at least six minutes.
Waymo, help us. During the incident, the passengers called the police and then the Waymo helpline to see if they could manually steer the car to get them out of there. However, the company told them that this was not possible because there was a person nearby and the software did not allow it, but that they would be fine because the doors were closed. Speaking to the New York Times, one of the passengers states that “If I had kept hitting a single window instead of alternating, I’m sure I would have broken it in the end.”
Why is it important. The Waymo robotaxis have been integrated into the life of cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, but although their use has been normalized, they are also the subject of strong opposition from a sector of the population. Since the appearance of the first robotaxis there have been protests against this technology and have also suffered damage in demonstrations for other reasons. Last summer, during the anti-ICE protests, Protesters burned several Waymo in Los Angeles claiming they were spy cars (Waymo has shared images from its car cameras with police in the past).
It is not the first incident. There have been other similar situations of Waymo vehicles vandalized while there were passengers inside, or cases like that of this woman who was trapped while two men outside asked him for his phone. And there have been more controversies, such as the run over of a well-known San Francisco cat or the day there was a blackout and dozens of robotaxis were left strandedblocking the streets.
Security. On your websiteWaymo boasts that its cars have 90% fewer accidents with serious injuries and 92% fewer accidents with pedestrians. Obviously the most important thing is to ensure safe driving, but incidents like these show that there are more angles from which to understand safety than just avoiding accidents.
Image | Waymo
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