This string of occasions — none of which resulted in severe accidents — comes after Waymo’s fundamental competitor, Common Motors-owned Cruise, recalled its fleet of driverless vehicles final 12 months after hitting, dragging and gravely injuring a pedestrian who was flung into its path by a hit-and-run driver. The fallout from that crash has elevated the highlight on Waymo, because it’s now the lone firm attempting to develop 24/7 robotaxi service round California, regardless of sharp resistance from native officers.
“Waymo has turn out to be the standard-bearer for your complete robotaxi trade for higher or for worse,” mentioned David Zipper, a senior fellow on the MIT Mobility Initiative. Whereas Waymo’s incidents are “nowhere close to what Cruise is accused of doing, there’s a disaster of confidence in autonomous car firms associated to security proper now.”
The California Public Utilities Fee (CPUC) delayed deciding whether or not Waymo might develop its service to incorporate a portion of a serious California freeway and likewise Los Angeles and San Mateo counties, pending “additional employees evaluation,” in response to the regulator’s web site. Whereas Waymo mentioned the delay is part of the fee’s “normal and sturdy evaluation course of,” the postponement comes as officers from different localities worry changing into like San Francisco — the place self-driving vehicles have disrupted emergency scenes, held up visitors and annoyed residents who’re studying to share public roads with robotic vehicles.
“I’m involved that the CPUC won’t contemplate the clear antagonistic impacts of unrestricted AV deployment in San Francisco in its choice to additional deployment in Los Angeles,” Mayor Karen Bass mentioned in a November letter to the state fee. “In a metropolis that spans 500 sq. miles, has a inhabitants of roughly 4 million folks, and comprises 7,500 miles of roadways, the chance is exponentially better.”
In keeping with a December report from Waymo, the corporate has examined its automobiles over 7.1 million miles. In keeping with its personal information, there have been an estimated 17 fewer accidents and 20 fewer police-reported crashes “in comparison with if human drivers with the benchmark crash fee would have pushed the identical distance within the areas we function.” The corporate presents industrial ride-hail service in San Francisco and Phoenix — and it’s additionally offering free rides to pick members of the general public in Los Angeles.
Whereas Waymo has been working its vehicles in Los Angeles principally with out incident — and hasn’t had any high-profile collisions such because the one in San Francisco that injured the pedestrian — various comparatively minor incidents have fed public angst concerning the automobiles.
For instance, in a Feb. 5 incident — which has not been beforehand reported — a driverless Waymo was exiting the USC campus after dropping off passengers when it approached an automated gate because it was closing, in response to a report the corporate filed to the California Division of Motor Autos. The Waymo car braked however made contact with the gate, scratching the suitable aspect of the car, the corporate mentioned. A consultant for USC didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Additionally in Los Angeles, a automobile final 12 months did “not correctly determine or obey an officer who was directing visitors in an intersection the place visitors indicators have been offline,” in response to the mayor’s workplace. Waymo declined to touch upon the case, however shared a video of a Waymo obeying hand indicators from a police officer in Los Angeles.
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors lately handed a decision in help of a pending state invoice that will give native governments the ability to resolve if they need driverless vehicles on its streets. Different authorities our bodies, such because the Los Angeles County Division of Transportation and the San Mateo County Legal professional’s Workplace, submitted letters to the state attempting to stall the growth of robotaxi service of their jurisdictions.
These efforts are much like what performed out in San Francisco final 12 months, when public officers right here tried desperately to halt the growth however have been finally unsuccessful. Zipper mentioned it’s a notable disparity that “the businesses are saying the expertise is meant to be a godsend for city life, and it’s fairly placing that the leaders of those city areas actually don’t need them,” he mentioned.
In December, San Francisco Metropolis Legal professional David Chiu filed a lawsuit towards the state fee for permitting Waymo and Cruise to develop right here this summer season, regardless of inflicting a sample of “severe issues” on the streets. That call is at present pending in courtroom.
In the meantime, the incidents right here have continued to pile up.
On Feb. 7, a Waymo hit a bike owner who was initially obscured by a truck. In keeping with the corporate, a bike owner was close to a truck and crossing into the Waymo’s path. When the bike owner turned seen to the automobile, it tried to use the breaks however was unable to keep away from the crash. The bike owner sustained non-life-threatening accidents.
Then, in a present of public disrespect for the automobiles that weekend, one automobile was attacked and vandalized in San Francisco’s Chinatown throughout a Lunar New Yr celebration. Mayor London Breed admonished the incident as “a harmful and harmful act of vandalism,” in response to an announcement.
Past California, a Waymo in Phoenix made contact with a “backwards-facing pickup truck being improperly towed forward of the Waymo car,” in response to the corporate. The pickup truck was angled throughout a middle flip lane and visitors lane, the corporate mentioned. A second Waymo car made contact with the pickup truck a couple of minutes later.
Because of this, Waymo mentioned on Feb. 11 — three months after the incident — that it issued a voluntary recall report to handle the problem.
“As we serve extra riders in additional cities, we’ll proceed our security first method, working to earn belief and foster clear communication with our riders, neighborhood members, regulators, and policymakers,” Waymo mentioned in a weblog publish.
