How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
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Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#2Waymo is currently under investigation for multiple incidents, not all of which it had previously disclosed to the NHTSA [0]. The recent light pole incident also doesn't help [1].
If they are doing 50k rides a day, then they would appear to have a remarkable safety record.
It will be interesting to see if these investigations lead to a repeat of the Cruise debacle or if this will become the price of doing business.
[0] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-saf...
Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#3I just left a version of this in another thread—I live in Phoenix and now take Waymo regularly, and it seems like we're close to a world in which most people take self-driving cars most of the time, crash rates plummet, and these kinds of articles come to resemble articles from 1910 about horse-related problems.
Humans suck at driving: https://jakeseliger.com/2019/12/16/maybe-cars-are-just-reall...
Waymos avoid many of the Uber challenges: foul-smelling "air fresheners," dubious music / talk radio choices, etc.
Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#4Waymo is currently under investigation for multiple incidents, not all of which it had previously disclosed to the NHTSA [0]. The recent light pole incident also doesn't help [1]. If they are doing 50k rides a day, then they would appear to have a remarkable safety record. It will be interesting to see if these investigations lead to a repeat of the Cruise debacle or if this will become the price of doing business. […
The overall safety record is amazingly good: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/12/human-drivers-crash-a-l...
Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#5Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#6Robotaxis are "a real business"? Maybe in the future, but not yet. From the article:
> But even the most bullish believers in autonomous transportation acknowledge the tech still has a ways to go before it’s reliable enough for widespread deployment on U.S. roads.
Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#7Robotaxis are "a real business"? Maybe in the future, but not yet. From the article: > But even the most bullish believers in autonomous transportation acknowledge the tech still has a ways to go before it’s reliable enough for widespread deployment on U.S. roads.
They're the present here in SF, driving every day and more safely than the humans do. And as a human driver, I can testify that these streets are not particularly easy to drive on.
Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#8Waymo is currently under investigation for multiple incidents, not all of which it had previously disclosed to the NHTSA [0]. The recent light pole incident also doesn't help [1]. If they are doing 50k rides a day, then they would appear to have a remarkable safety record. It will be interesting to see if these investigations lead to a repeat of the Cruise debacle or if this will become the price of doing business. […
Anecdata, but watching the Waymo cars compared to Cruise (preban) was night and day. Before Cruise was banned in SF, I would often see them violate traffic laws and fail to navigate basic intersections. Waymo isn't perfect, but its better than Cruise and the average SF driver, which is good enough for me.
Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#9Robotaxis are "a real business"? Maybe in the future, but not yet. From the article: > But even the most bullish believers in autonomous transportation acknowledge the tech still has a ways to go before it’s reliable enough for widespread deployment on U.S. roads.
They're the present here in SF, driving every day and more safely than the humans do. And as a human driver, I can testify that these streets are not particularly easy to drive on.
They are here in the Phoenix area too and I have not seen and issues with them. However, we are blessed by sunny weather 99% of the time. I think the biggest challenges will be having them drive in adverse weather conditions present throughout the rest of the country, such as blizzards, hail, torrential rain, dense fog.
Re: How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business
#10I just left a version of this in another thread—I live in Phoenix and now take Waymo regularly, and it seems like we're close to a world in which most people take self-driving cars most of the time, crash rates plummet, and these kinds of articles come to resemble articles from 1910 about horse-related problems. Humans suck at driving: https://jakeseliger.com/2019/12/16/maybe-cars-are-just-reall... Waymos avoid many…
In the same vein, I don't ride uber often but when I do I often find that drivers leave their windows closed and car's air circulation turned off completely. When I ask for "a bit of airflow" they apparently hear it as "I'm too hot", so they turn AC to maximum power.
I'm not sure whether this reflects their own preferences, what they think customers want, or if they are just completely oblivious.