Yahoo Autos Phoenix Police Bust Waymo Robotaxi
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With technology continually moving us into uncharted territory, we’re now seeing cases of robotaxis getting pulled over by police. The latest example comes via Phoenix, Arizona where a cop pulled one over after the driverless car went the wrong way in a construction zone.
Would-be thief tries driving off in a robotaxi.
Allegedly, the Waymo autonomous vehicle was going eastbound in westbound lanes, prompting the officer to pull it over. While there was no driver or even passengers inside, the cop still walked up to the driver’s window, which rolled down as if someone were sitting there.
Before that, the officer claims once he turned on his emergency lights the robotaxi sped away from him, blasting through an intersection. It finally pulled over after being followed by the police cruiser.
Waymo blamed the incident on inconsistent signage in the construction zone. It also explained the officer blocked the robotaxi, adding to the seemingly erratic movements of the vehicle.
In its report on the incident, Fox 10 Phoenix interviewed a man who said he was almost sideswiped by a robotaxi not long ago. The guy claimed he and his son have both seen them driving erratically and stopped in the middle of intersections. In his estimation, driverless cars are a nuisance.
We expect most people will either think this proves autonomous vehicles are an awful blight on society or that the technology works well enough, with a few hiccups which can be easily ironed out.
We’ve seen other incidents of robotaxis running from police, causing accidents, stopping so they block traffic, even running animals or people over. Every time this happens the companies that own the vehicles have some explanation which never admits fault with the technology.
Their ardent supporters often blame humans for incidents. But we seriously wonder just how perfect of drivers the autonomous cars can actually be.
Image via Fox 10 Phoenix/YouTube
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