A school district tried to help train Waymos to stop for school buses

Post by Waymo_fast » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:37 PM UTC

ronsor wrote: post #31

ceejayoz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never been stuck behind someone doing 45 in a 55? Really? You don’t have to speed. It’s a choice. You shouldn’t make the choice in the passing lane, though.

I'm fairly certain "slower traffic keep right" is part of the expected flow. Maybe the Waymo is technically speeding, but so is everyone else, because speed limits aren't magic, and if the de-facto limit ends up being 50 when the posted limit is 40 or 45, going slower creates extra conflict points for accidents.

Post by disillusioned » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:38 PM UTC

pavel_lishin wrote: post #16

appreciatorBus wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember when they told us that autonomous cars wouldn’t break laws and wouldn’t speed. I always felt this was just a strategy, and that soon enough fleet operators would turn up the dials on speed and aggressiveness. After all, the only people who can complain are the people outside the car, and they will be dead.

There are highways in the US where drivers regularly go 10-20 over the speed limit, if not more; maintaining the speed limit on a road that's labeled as 45MPH zone, but is treated as a 65, will be dangerous for everyone involved, both the cars approaching the slowpoke at 20+ miles an hour, and the slowpoke itself. I don't know how Waymo is going to square that circle.

Post by kube-system » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:42 PM UTC

threetonesun wrote: post #39

SoftTalker wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a road that's labeled as 45MPH zone, but is treated as a 65 If this is the case, then the speed limit is too low. To control speed on such a road you either need draconian enforcement or you need to change the road so people aren't comfortable driving that fast. Make the lanes narrower, introduce lane shifts or reduce the number of lanes, etc.

IDK if it's draconian but speed cameras or simply forcing cars to have modules that report speeds at certain points and issue fines automatically should be standard by now. What's the point of having smarter cars if they can't be forced to stay below the legal speed limit.

Post by appreciatorBus » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:45 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #37

pavel_lishin wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are highways in the US where drivers regularly go 10-20 over the speed limit, if not more; maintaining the speed limit on a road that's labeled as 45MPH zone, but is treated as a 65, will be dangerous for everyone involved, both the cars approaching the slowpoke at 20+ miles an hour, and the slowpoke itself. I don't know how Waymo is going to square that circle.

I used to live in a place where this was common -- the issue was not just speed, but a general disregard for traffic law because traffic law was unenforced. You could be going 50 in a 35 and someone would aggressively pass you. At some point, the road is simply occupied by unsafe drivers and there's not much you can do other than hold your line and be as predictable as possible to the aggressive drivers around you.

Post by kube-system » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 7:49 PM UTC

merelysounds wrote: post #42

bushbaba wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a cop notices this, who gets the ticket? Asking because I’ve noticed Waymos starting to go above the speed limit now. They’re generally just matching the flow of traffic like everyone else, but it does raise the question: who gets fined? And if the fleet as a whole racks up more than 4 points in 12 months, would Waymo loose it's license similar to human drivers?

> when a Waymo vehicle is driving itself, Waymo may be legally considered the operator, even if a human passenger sits inside Source: https://www.vazirilaw.com/faqs/whos-liable-in-a-waymo-self-d...