Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams • Hacker News Board

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#271

Post by kevin_thibedeau » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:22 AM UTC

namibj wrote: post #229

beAbU wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I buy BEV trains to be honest. I'm struggling to think of a proper reason why they might be better compared to normal electric trains. But the linked article is pretty light on info, so I'll reserve judgement till more info comes to light.

They are good for infrequently used track and places where overhead wires would be in the way, like that very Tesla employee shuttle on it's own track and container ports. It's not the best way to go for mainline track and not suitable for long distance high speed trains.

If it's infrequently used, a dual mode diesel-electric can fill that use case today.

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#272

Post by confidantlake » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:28 AM UTC

themafia wrote: post #175

MBCook wrote: post #93

From John Ripley on Mastodon: “Thought of the day, and I wish there were a way to get this to legislators: Come the next Big One earthquake, all of San Francisco’s emergency services will be blocked by Waymos.” I’m AMAZED they’re not designed to handle this better. This does indeed seem like a massive problem. “Oops we give up” right when things get the worst? How is this OK? I’ve been very impressed by Waymo’s more…

> Perhaps they haven’t fully thought through the ramifications of it though. There is a chorus of voices here on HN that have tried to do this openly, obviously, myself included. It seems to be almost universally derided by people who apparently assume that we're just trying to hurt a start up out of anti-environmental sentiment and jealousy. There are more ways to get "self-driving cars" wrong than there are to get…

> I'm not sure where the sentiment that a trillion dollar corporation is naturally going to implement this system with the best interests of society in hand comes from

The sentiment comes from the corporation itself. With this much money at stake you know they have a hand in steering the conversation and that includes on sites such as this.

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#273

Post by delichon » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:30 AM UTC

Tempest1981 wrote: post #51

How did FSD Teslas do at the traffic signals? Or Nuro?

Here's an example of it doing well:

https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/2002699317409186219

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#274

Post by confidantlake » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:32 AM UTC

raldi wrote: post #6

I'm surprised that either: 1. Nobody at Waymo thought of this, 2. Somebody did think of it but it wasn't considered important enough to prioritize, or 3. They tried to prep the cars for this and yet they nonetheless failed so badly

Likely 2. Not something that will make it into in their kpis. No one is getting promoted for mitigating black swan events.

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#275

Post by _ea1k » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:35 AM UTC

Waymo will get better at this.

But even without them getting better, as far as I know there were zero waymo fatalities due to this.

That's more than I can say about Helene, where there was at least one fatality due to traffic light outages.

Lets not forget that a big part of why we want Waymo is that it has already lead to a dramatic decrease in fatal accidents. They are a great company that will do a lot of good for the world. One bad night (in which noone was hurt, in part because of their cautiuosness) shouldn't negate that.

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#276

Post by jordanb » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:37 AM UTC

_ea1k wrote: post #275

Waymo will get better at this. But even without them getting better, as far as I know there were zero waymo fatalities due to this. That's more than I can say about Helene, where there was at least one fatality due to traffic light outages. Lets not forget that a big part of why we want Waymo is that it has already lead to a dramatic decrease in fatal accidents. They are a great company that will do a lot of good for…

"Hey guys what are you complaining about? We didn't (directly) kill anyone!"

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#277

Post by merely-unlikely » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:40 AM UTC

jazzyjackson wrote: post #199

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if human drivers are having to go around them, they’re not doing the right thing They're not. But it's also not a disaster. Pretending it is on Twitter is pandering, not policymaking. > They need to drive or pull over. Never just stop there in the road and wait Agreed. Waymo has a lesson to learn from. Sacramento, and the NHTSA, similarly, need to draw up emergency minimums for self-driving cars. There are producti…

> Waymo has a lesson to learn from. At what point can we be spared from having Waymos lessons inflicted upon us

When humans can cause fewer accidents and fatalities than Waymo on average. People are still inflicting those lessons on us.

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#278

Post by wrsh07 » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:41 AM UTC

dmix wrote: post #186

themafia wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps they haven’t fully thought through the ramifications of it though. There is a chorus of voices here on HN that have tried to do this openly, obviously, myself included. It seems to be almost universally derided by people who apparently assume that we're just trying to hurt a start up out of anti-environmental sentiment and jealousy. There are more ways to get "self-driving cars" wrong than there are to get…

What was the better solution here then? Assuming there's hundreds or thousands of self-driving cars suddenly driving in environment without any traffic lights. In the pictures you can see six Waymo cars at a single intersection. Assuming some of them had passengers should they all try to turn at the intersection anyway, when their LIDAR says the lane is likely free and pull over to the side? Is that the safest option…

Tbh I'm surprised waymo didn't have remote monitors who could handle cars at intersections or safely pull to the side

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#279

Post by Rebelgecko » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:44 AM UTC

philipallstar wrote: post #212

blibble wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if google's property is blocking the road, google can pay for the damage

As long as you're happy that if your property ever blocks the road, you will pay for the damage too.

Duh?

Re: Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

#280

Post by s1artibartfast » Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 1:44 AM UTC

jazzyjackson wrote: post #199

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if human drivers are having to go around them, they’re not doing the right thing They're not. But it's also not a disaster. Pretending it is on Twitter is pandering, not policymaking. > They need to drive or pull over. Never just stop there in the road and wait Agreed. Waymo has a lesson to learn from. Sacramento, and the NHTSA, similarly, need to draw up emergency minimums for self-driving cars. There are producti…

> Waymo has a lesson to learn from. At what point can we be spared from having Waymos lessons inflicted upon us

Whenever they become so much a problem that they counterbalance public and private interests in having and improving robotaxis. For most people, we are nowhere near that.