Waymo has proven to be a shining example of what the future of an autonomous vehicle could be, with a robotaxi fleet that is already safer than human drivers. However, the service’s driverless taxis aren’t quite perfect yet. Three Waymo vehicles found themselves in an apparent standoff on a San Francisco street last weekend. To make matters worse, our trio of clumsy desperadoes were blocking traffic on a dead-end street. The situation was only resolved after a Waymo employee arrived on scene.
@chii_rinna
Not the Waymo standoff in San Francisco #waymo#ai #sanfrancisco #self-drivingcar #sharerides♬ original sound – chii_rinna
Video on social media showed the three robotaxis in the middle of their showdown. A pair of Waymo’s Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs froze after hitting each other. Then a third driverless taxi approached the collision and stopped to wait until the path was clear. TikTok user chii_rinna arrived on the scene and asked another bystander what happened. They replied, “I don’t know, I was just coming out of the garage and I saw this going on, like a Waymo standoff. I’m just trying to get out of here.” Things seemed to right themselves as soon as a car was reversed out of the way.
Waymo is expanding across the country
This highlight isn’t the only minor incident involving Waymo over the past month. One of the robotaxis drove through a crime stop in Los Angeles. LAPD officers drew their weapons and attempted to arrest the driver of a pickup truck at an intersection. A Waymo vehicle casually made a left turn through the intersection, rolling past the driver as he obeyed police orders and lay face down on the sidewalk. Waymo robotaxi may be better drivers than humans, but driving is the only thing they can do. Social self-preservation is not really one of her skills.
#Waymo #isnt #exciting #sounds #Jalopnik