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Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

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Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#621

Post by dbg31415 »

lazide wrote: post #539
dbg31415 wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it would be far more effective to make it easier to lose your license than it would be to make getting the license more challenging. For your system to work, there would actually need to be cops watching traffic. Since the pandemic, some cities just don't have as many police watching the streets as they used to. For example, there is virtually no traffic enforcement in Austin now. You see the results with h…

But why? Did they fire all the cops? Or did the cops just stop doing their jobs?

Austin didn't "fire all the cops." What happened was messier.

After 2020, the city council cut about a third of the police budget and paused new cadet classes. At the same time, hundreds of officers retired early or left for better pay elsewhere. By 2023, patrol vacancies were over 30%. With fewer officers, APD stopped handling whole categories of calls -- traffic enforcement, minor crashes, and low-level 911 calls -- because they just didn't have the staff.

Then politics made it worse. Austin leaders (Blue) pushed for more oversight and accountability. The governor (Red) fought back with bills to hide misconduct records and block transparency. The Travis County DA started prosecuting misconduct more aggressively, straining relations even further. The result: a demoralized force, hollowed-out staffing, and a city caught between "fund them less" and "hold them accountable more," while basic policing collapsed.

So no, they weren't fired. But yes, many stopped doing the job -- leaving Austin residents stuck in the middle of a state–city standoff. And honestly, it feels like that was Governor Abbott's goal all along: "If you didn't vote for me, don't expect police to lift a finger for you." These days, even for traffic accidents, assaults, or vandalism, 911 just tells you to file a report online.

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#623

Post by spauldo »

bruckie wrote: post #610
spauldo wrote: post #587

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any US jurisdiction that bans right on red is going to see a lot of violations - mostly from people who are unaware of the law or people who know the law but accidentally do it out of habit. If DC wanted to stop people from turning right on red, signs would be the only effective solution. At least with Arizona, it's the whole state so most drivers won't have the habit. Of course, if DC just wants to take in a lot of…

Right turn on red being prohibited in Arizona is an internet myth, according to https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/misinformation-online-... , which links to the statute at https://www.azleg.gov/ars/28/00645.htm (paragraph A.3(b)).

It might be a myth, but it's certainly not an Internet myth. I first read about it in a Rand MacNally atlas in the 80s.

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#624

Post by account42 »

beAbU wrote: post #541
scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only there were other ways of tracking and observing vehicle behavior. And some reliable way of identifying vehicles themselves. Or ways that we could automate this with computers to sort through. But that's just science fiction. Cars are just going to be cars!

Kinda funny how the HN crowd can both decry and advocate for automated mass surveillance at the same time.

Is this the first time you have encountered a community made up of individuals with different opinions?

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#625

Post by lazide »

dbg31415 wrote: post #621
lazide wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why? Did they fire all the cops? Or did the cops just stop doing their jobs?

Austin didn't "fire all the cops." What happened was messier. After 2020, the city council cut about a third of the police budget and paused new cadet classes. At the same time, hundreds of officers retired early or left for better pay elsewhere. By 2023, patrol vacancies were over 30%. With fewer officers, APD stopped handling whole categories of calls -- traffic enforcement, minor crashes, and low-level 911 calls -…

San Jose had a similar drama play out. Not the only one either. Fun times.

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#626

Post by Loudergood »

thfuran wrote: post #100
freeone3000 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine if we had dedicated lanes for giant Waymos, that could hold dozens of people. The future of transport.

You need to think bigger. Once we have separate lanes just for the waymos, we don't need them to be regular roadways. We can scale up the waymo even more and size the lane exactly to the vehicle, maybe even radically redesign the road surface for lower rolling resistance. What a future it will be.

I can't believe how quickly NYC got rid of taxis once the subway went in...

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#627

Post by soupfordummies »

genewitch wrote: post #596
globular-toast wrote: post #543

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snitching... Please. We're not in the school playground any more. We're talking about taking responsibility when it comes to operating a vehicle in public. There's a huge imbalance of power when it comes to car use especially and we need to restore the balance. People need a recourse against irresponsible and bad drivers.

do you actually know every specific vehicle code and regulation everywhere you drive? I constantly remark to my dashcam about people breaking the law in my jurisdiction. Would you be bothered if someone was following you all day, making recordings every time you didn't signal for exactly 5000ms before a lane change, or 300' before a turn? how about not stopping for a full three seconds, or driving an extra 100' in th…

No I wouldn't be bothered because I actually do those things. As should anyone driving.

And they're not felonies, they're cheap tickets that probably won't even add points to your license.

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#628

Post by genewitch »

soupfordummies wrote: post #627
genewitch wrote: post #596

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do you actually know every specific vehicle code and regulation everywhere you drive? I constantly remark to my dashcam about people breaking the law in my jurisdiction. Would you be bothered if someone was following you all day, making recordings every time you didn't signal for exactly 5000ms before a lane change, or 300' before a turn? how about not stopping for a full three seconds, or driving an extra 100' in th…

No I wouldn't be bothered because I actually do those things. As should anyone driving. And they're not felonies, they're cheap tickets that probably won't even add points to your license.

Three felonies a day: ISBN 978-1594035227

and i'm sorry, i can't take anyone seriously that claims they both know and always follow every vehicle code, wherever they are and wherever they travel. I do understand it allows one to shake their head in disdain for the unwashed cars driven by the lesser drivers of our society.

I can follow anyone, including federal agents, local and state law enforcement, CDL drivers; i will catch something that is a violation of the vehicle code.

If you live anywhere near the gulf coast, i'd be happy to tail you for a couple of days and point out every violation you make.

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#629

Post by xnx »

mcny wrote: post #531
dbmikus wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The people that are good but dangerous drivers will drive well and safely during tests, so you won't catch them.

We need a consistently reliable public transit system before we tell people they can't drive for one reason or another.

> We need a consistently reliable public transit system

Like Waymo

Re: Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

#630

Post by randyrand »

beeflet wrote: post #504
randyrand wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forcing people to tackle the problem from different angles without sharing is the best way to avoid local minimum.

the local minimum is that any single company monopolizes self-driving cars, using the data as a moat.

there are multiple. that's why they're called 'local' minimum.
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