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Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

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Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#101

Post by bronco21016 »

rubicon33 wrote: post #16
bronco21016 wrote: post #7

I don’t live in a served market yet so I haven’t yet tried Waymo. However I have used SuperCruise and BlueCruise from GM and Ford. What I’ve noticed from those other systems is that a human in the loop makes the system so much more comfortable. I’ve had times where I can see the red lights ahead and the system is not yet slowing because the car immediately in front of me isn’t slowing yet. It’s unsettling when the au…

Honestly you need to try Waymo. It’s in a league of its own.

I would love to. Just haven't traveled to any of their markets yet. They've announced expansion to a market near my home and if I get the opportunity I will absolutely give it a shot.

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#102

Post by zipy124 »

embedding-shape wrote: post #22
NullHypothesist wrote: post #2

This is a huge sign of confidence that they think they can do this safely and at scale... Freeways might appear "easy" on the surface, but there are all sorts of long tail edge-cases that make them insanely tricky to do confidently without a driver. This will unlock a lot for them with all of the smaller US cities (where highways are essential) they've announced plans for over the next year or so.

> Freeways might appear "easy" on the surface, but there are all sorts of long tail edge-cases that make them insanely tricky to do confidently without a driver Maybe my memory is failing me, but I seem to remember people saying the exact opposite here on HN when Tesla first announced/showed off their "self-driving but not really self-driving" features, saying it'll be very easy to get working on the highways, but th…

Highway is easier, but if something goes wrong the chance of death is pretty high. This is bad PR and could get you badly regulated if you fuck it up.

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#103

Post by CPLX »

QuercusMax wrote: post #98
CPLX wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may want to become aware of the existence of New York City. It's a pretty interesting place.

Yeah, that sounds like NYC nonsense. I assume it's still illegal to drive on the shoulder in New York.

Perhaps. But if you have a taxi or car service driver who's not willing to ever break any traffic laws in New York, you will not arrive at your destination in anything approaching a reasonable amount of time.

For example, getting at the back of the line for an exit rather than trying to go to the front and cut your way in could be a multi-hour mistake.

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#104

Post by iteria »

jjfoooo4 wrote: post #71
circuit10 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who doesn’t drive but has done a UK theory test - aren’t you supposed to stick to the “slow lane” (no matter how fast you’re going) unless you’re overtaking? And that’s why it’s not actually called the “fast lane” but the “passing lane”. So I don’t see why you would be in the passing lane unless you’re going faster than others anyway. And there are plenty of lorries and coaches (trucks and buses in US term…

Yes. People do in fact safely drive the speed limit. If "we'll have too many cars on the freeway following the speed limit" ranks as a serious concern, I think we've really lost the plot. I recently drove by a fatal accident that had just happened on the freeway. A man on the street had been ripped in half, and his body was lying on the road. I can't imagine the scene is all that unlike the 40 thousand other US road…

It depends on where you are. There was a protest in in Atlanta about the speed limit. What did they do? They got in every. Single. Lane. As did the speed limit. This backed up traffic for miles. It stopped commercial delivery and had ramifications for entire area. The protesters were arrested. For going the legal limit. The speed limit did not change, but there is a reason why it's never enforced.

I've lived in a couple of places where going the speed limit is a whole problem that can cascade outside of just yourself. There is an argument to be made that perhaps then the speed limit shouldn't be that low, but in driving safety is far more important than legality. It will be interesting to see how Waymo handles these realities when it gets to those areas.

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#105

Post by CPLX »

estearum wrote: post #79
toast0 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Waymo was a better experience in every single way. One of the Lyfts i was in drove on the shoulder for a while like it was a lane. These sentances conflict. I recently took a taxi from JFK to Manhattan during rush hour, and I estimate if the driver didn't use all of the paved surface, it would have taken at least 10 more minutes to arrive. (And it wouldn't have been an authentic NYC experience) It's ok if you prefe…

> These sentances conflict. I recently took a taxi from JFK to Manhattan during rush hour, and I estimate if the driver didn't use all of the paved surface, it would have taken at least 10 more minutes to arrive. (And it wouldn't have been an authentic NYC experience) My hot take is that people who "use all of the paved surface" because their whiny passenger is "in a rush" (which of course everyone stuck in traffic i…

[flagged]

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#106

Post by toast0 »

circuit10 wrote: post #54
s1mon wrote: post #10

How will Waymos handle speed limits on highways? In the city, they seem to stick to the rules. A large percentage of drivers in the bay area, including non-emergency police, drive well above the legal limit regularly. Unless Waymo sticks to the slow lane, it's going to be a weird issue.

As someone who doesn’t drive but has done a UK theory test - aren’t you supposed to stick to the “slow lane” (no matter how fast you’re going) unless you’re overtaking? And that’s why it’s not actually called the “fast lane” but the “passing lane”. So I don’t see why you would be in the passing lane unless you’re going faster than others anyway. And there are plenty of lorries and coaches (trucks and buses in US term…

The slow lane and passing lane dichotomy makes sense in a rural highway with two lanes in your direction.

It makes less sense in an urban environment with 5 or more lanes in your direction. Vehicles will be traveling at varying speeds in all lanes, ideally with a monotonic gradient, but it just doesn't happen, and it's unlikely to.

In California, large trucks generally have a lower speed limit (however many trucks are not speed governed and do exceed the truck limit and sometimes the car limit) and lane restrictions on large highways. Waymo may do well if it tends toward staying in the lanes where trucks are allowed as those tend to flow closer to posted car speed limits. But sometimes there's left exits, and sometimes traffic flow is really poor on many right lanes because of upcoming exits. And during commute time, I think the HOV lane would be preferred; taxis are generally eligible for the HOV lane even when only the driver is present, but I don't know about self-driving with a single or no occupant.

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#107

Post by JumpCrisscross »

toast0 wrote: post #68
mmmlinux wrote: post #28

I was in SF a few weekend ago and rode both Waymo and normal Lyft style taxi cars. the Waymo was a better experience in every single way. One of the Lyfts i was in drove on the shoulder for a while like it was a lane. The Waymos were just smooth consistent driving. No aggressive driving to get you dumped off so they can get to the next fair.

> Waymo was a better experience in every single way. One of the Lyfts i was in drove on the shoulder for a while like it was a lane. These sentances conflict. I recently took a taxi from JFK to Manhattan during rush hour, and I estimate if the driver didn't use all of the paved surface, it would have taken at least 10 more minutes to arrive. (And it wouldn't have been an authentic NYC experience) It's ok if you prefe…

> it would have taken at least 10 more minutes to arrive. (And it wouldn't have been an authentic NYC experience)

Lived in New York for 10+ years and still go back regularly. This is unacceptable behaviour by a cabbie.

Given the amount of construction and thus police presence on that route right now, you’re lucky you didn’t get a 60-minute bonus when the cab got pulled over. (The pro move during rush hour and construction is (a) not to, but if you have to, (b) taking the AirTrain and LIRR.)

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#109

Post by lumens »

eloncuck wrote: post #81
lumens wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Truly curious - have you tried it recently?

Daily. I'm still unable to leave my culdesac without phantom leaves causing phantom braking. There was a time when I believed in the hype, I'm less skeptical than most. But the evidence now is incontrovertible.

I assume this is not a HW4 vehicle?

I am empathetic to the disappointment of older vehicle owners who have been promised this capability for years and still don't see it (because their hardware just can't -- and the hardware upgrade isn't coming either).

That said, the new Y with 14.1.x really does do as claimed.

Re: Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

#110

Post by potato3732842 »

jordanb wrote: post #5
terminalshort wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freeways are easier than surface streets. The reason they held off allowing highways is because Waymo wants to minimize the probability of death for PR purposes. They figure they can get away with a lot of wrecks as long as they don't kill people.

There's also the risk of a phantom breaking event causing a big pileup. The PR of a Waymo causing a large cascading accident would be horrible.

This. Stop in a dumb way and a garbage truck bumps you on a city street and it's no big deal. Applying a bunch of brake at the wrong time and you could easily cause a newsworthy sized (and therefore public scrutiny sized) accident.

The real public isn't an internet comment section. Having your PR people spew statements about "well, other people have an obligation to use safe following distances" is unlikely to get you off the hook.

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