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Robotaxi vandalism raises questions about autonomous vehicle safety

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A video posted to social media showing a Waymo self-driving taxi being vandalized and engulfed in flames in San Francisco is sparking debate over autonomous vehicles. The incident happened on Saturday, Feb. 10, in the Chinatown area of the city.

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The San Francisco Fire Department did not report any injuries from the vandalism. However, the vehicle is a total loss. Video posted to X shows the charred remains of the taxi as firefighters douse water on the twisted and singed metal.

The incident has led to some experts scrutinizing the artificial intelligence of Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet. Some critics have also suggested that the company’s autonomous vehicles should be able to detect heavy foot traffic or danger with multiple cameras and sensors mounted to the vehicle.

“Most normal car drivers know that they have to avoid Chinatown during the Lunar New Year holidays,” said Aaron Peskin with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who has called for more regulation of self-driving cars. “The computer doesn’t know that.”

However, some came to the company’s defense. San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed, D, called the Waymo incident a “dangerous and destructive act of vandalism” and praised Waymo’s role in the city.

“We are a city that is home to exciting, emerging technologies, like autonomous vehicles, that are changing the world,” Breed said.

Despite the support from some, autonomous vehicles still face questions of safety.

The Washington Post reported that then-Tesla employee, Hans von Ohain, died while his friend, Erik Rossiter, said that he was using the full self-driving feature during the crash in 2022. If true, it would mark the first known death of a person using the full self-driving feature of Tesla.

Ohain’s widow and Rossiter maintain that Ohain used the full self-driving feature every time he drove the car, even with his infant child inside. Ohain’s widow told the Post she was uneasy with the technology, reporting the feature was “jerky” and that Ohain experienced the vehicle unexpectedly swerving while using the feature. Still, he maintained confidence in the technology.

According to the Post, Ohain was selected by Elon Musk to test the technology in the hopes that he would log data that Tesla could use to perfect the experimental technology. The Post reported that only 400,000 Tesla drivers were selected for the fully autonomous feature.

An investigation by the Colorado State Patrol and National Highway Safety Administration did find that Ohain had a blood alcohol level of .26, well over the legal limit. However, neither agency could determine if the self-driving feature of Tesla directly contributed to the crash. The fire resulting from the crash destroyed the car and any systems that preserved data regarding the self-driving feature.

Ohain’s friend did confirm that the pair had been out drinking that day after finishing 21 holes of golf. However, Rossiter claimed that the self-driving feature caused Ohain to leave the road and strike a tree. Rossiter was able to escape, while Ohain was trapped in the car, and the resulting fire led to Ohain’s death.

Musk did not respond to comment regarding the article by The Washington Post and has not publicly acknowledged Ohain’s death. However, he has taken steps to fix driver assist features in Tesla.

NBC News reported that Tesla voluntarily recalled more than 2 million Teslas to update driver assist features and implement more safeguards. In addition, Tesla also urges drives to keep their hands on the wheel at all times and to be attentive. Experts argue that driver assist features and autonomous vehicles give drivers a “false sense” of security.

Despite the claims of added feelings of security, it appears drivers are still hesitant about autonomous vehicles.

Forbes found that 93% of drivers surveyed have concerns about self-driving cars. In addition, 62% of Americans are not confident in Tesla’s self-driving technology, and 81% of those surveyed have never been in a self-driving vehicle.

Advocates for safer autonomous vehicles are also pushing for companies to be more accountable.

The Dawn Project released videos that show Teslas reportedly in self-driving mode running stop signs, failing to stop for school buses and hitting mannequins meant to impersonate pedestrians.

The criticism isn’t just directed towards Tesla’s autonomous feature. In October, NPR reported that a woman suffered critical injuries after being struck and dragged by a General Motors-owned Cruise. Now, the company is reportedly facing fines and an investigation. The total cost could be millions of dollars for GM.

On Feb. 6, another incident involving a Waymo occurred. According to Reuters, an autonomous taxi hit a bicyclist.

Officials said the bicyclist was not seriously injured, but the incident still brought the safety of self-driving vehicles into question. However, both Waymo and Cruise maintain that autonomous systems make roads safer. Both companies claim that their vehicles have driven millions of miles without “any human fatalities.”

According to NPR, the rise of self-driving cars is also leading to protests. Activists are reportedly putting traffic cones on the hoods of driverless cars, rendering them immobile.

Robotaxis have also proven to be an obstacle for first responders. Reuters reported that a San Francisco Fire Department spokesperson confirmed that a firetruck on its way to an emergency had been held up by a Waymo that failed to pull over.

As for the robotaxi destroyed over the weekend, Waymo did not respond Monday when asked why the car drove into a crowded public event. Waymo previously described the vandalism as an isolated incident, but a Waymo rider told Reuters that he rode an autonomous taxi the next day through another San Francisco crowd and fireworks were shot at the car.

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[JACK AYLMER]

“RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.”

A ROBOTAXI OWNED BY WAYMO–

GRAFFITI’D, WINDOWS SMASHED, AND A FIREWORK LIT INSIDE– IGNITING A FIRE WHICH TORCHES THE CAR.

THE REMAINS– A HOLLOWED SHELL– AS FIREFIGHTERS POUR WATER ON THE TWISTED AND SINGED METAL.

THE VANDALISM CAUGHT ON MULTIPLE VIDEOS POSTED TO X.

SO, WHAT LED TO THIS?

THINGS TOOK A WRONG TURN WHEN THE SELF-DRIVING TAXI DROVE TOWARD A CROWDED AREA OF CHINATOWN IN SAN FRANCISCO– DURING A CELEBRATION OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. SOME IN THE CROWD THEN TURNED FROM CELEBRATING TO DESTRUCTION.

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED NO INJURIES IN THIS LATEST TOUCHPOINT IN AN ONGOING DEBATE OVER SELF-DRIVING CARS.

THE INCIDENT ON SATURDAY– HAS LED TO SOME EXPERTS SCRUTINIZING THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OF WAYMO–

SAYING WITH ITS CAMERAS AND SENSORS THE CAR SHOULD BE ABLE TO DETERMINE IF ITS HEADING INTO AN AREA WITH HEAVY FOOT-TRAFFIC OR DANGER

SAN FRANCISCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS PRESIDENT AARON PESKIN HAS CALLED FOR MORE REGULATION OF SELF-DRIVING CARS, TELLING REUTERS:

“MOST NORMAL CAR DRIVERS KNOW THAT THEY HAVE TO AVOID CHINATOWN DURING THE LUNAR NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS. THE COMPUTER DOESN’T UNDERSTAND THAT.”

HOWEVER, SOME CAME TO THE COMPANY’S DEFENSE.

SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR LONDON BREED CALLED THE WAYMO INCIDENT A “DANGEROUS AND DESTRUCTIVE ACT OF VANDALISM” AND PRAISED WAYMO’S ROLE IN THE CITY. IN A STATEMENT SAYING:

“WE ARE A CITY THAT IS HOME TO EXCITING, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, LIKE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, THAT ARE CHANGING THE WORLD.”

EVEN WITH THE SUPPORT– UNCERTAINTY REMAINS.

FINDINGS BY FORBES REVEALS 93 PERCENT OF PEOPLE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT SELF-DRIVING CARS.

THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTS–

IN 2022, A TESLA EMPLOYEE SLAMMED INTO A TREE ON A MOUNTAINOUS COLORADO ROAD WHILE REPORTEDLY USING THE FULL SELF-DRIVING FEATURE. IF TRUE, IT WOULD BE THE FIRST KNOWN DEATH USING THE TECHNOLOGY– IT’S BEEN RELEASED TO ONLY 400-THOUSAND DRIVERS. THE WORKER HAD BEEN TESTING IT OUT, LOGGING DATA TO PERFECT THE FEATURE.

HOWEVER, THE COLORADO STATE PATROL FOUND THE VICTIM

HAD A BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL MORE THAN TWICE THE LEGAL LIMIT– AND AN INVESTIGATION COULD NOT DETERMINE IF THE FULL-SELF-DRIVING FEATURE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CRASH.

MUSK HAS NOT PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE DEATH– AND THE COMPANY SAID THE TECHNOLOGY IS STILL EXPERIMENTAL.

TESLA DOES TELL DRIVERS TO REMAIN ATTENTIVE WITH THEIR HANDS ON THE WHEEL WHILE USING THE TECHNOLOGY.

STILL, ADVOCATES FOR SAFER AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES– ARE AIMING TO HOLD COMPANIES LIKE TESLA MORE ACCOUNTABLE.

THE DAWN PROJECT RELEASED VIDEO OF SELF-DRIVING TESLAS IGNORING STOP SIGNS– HITTING OBSTACLES– AND BLOWING PAST SCHOOL BUSES WITH STOP ARMS EXTENDED.

THE CRITICISM ISN’T ONLY DIRECTED TOWARDS TESLA–

ANOTHER AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE IS ALSO UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

RECENTLY–

A SELF-DRIVING G-M-OWNED CRUISE, HIT AND DRAGGED A WOMAN 20 FEET.

N-P-R REPORTING THE WOMAN SUFFERED CRITICAL INJURIES.

NOW THE COMPANY FACES GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS AND FINES–

WHICH COULD SOAR INTO THE MILLIONS.

LAST WEEK, ANOTHER WAYMO INCIDENT, A ROBOTAXI HITTING A BICYCLIST IN SAN FRANCISCO. THE BICYCLIST AVOIDED SERIOUS INJURY.

STILL, BOTH WAYMO AND CRUISE CLAIM THEY’VE DRIVEN MILLIONS OF MILES WITHOUT “ANY HUMAN FATALITIES.”– AND CONTEND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS MAKE ROADS SAFER.

THE RISE OF SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES IS ALSO LEADING TO PROTESTS– WITH ACTIVISTS REPORTEDLY PUTTING TRAFFIC CONES ON THE HOODS OF DRIVERLESS CARS – RENDERING THEM IMMOBILE.

ROBOTAXIS HAVE ALSO PROVEN TO BE AN OBSTACLE FOR EMERGENCY WORKERS.

A SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON CONFIRMED A FIRETRUCK ON ITS WAY TO AN EMERGENCY HAD BEEN HELD UP BY A WAYMO THAT FAILED TO PULLOVER.

AS FOR THE ROBOTAXI DESTROYED OVER THE WEEKEND–

WAYMO DID NOT RESPOND WHEN ASKED WHY THE CAR DROVE INTO A CROWDED PUBLIC EVENT.

WAYMO PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED THE VANDALISM AS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT–

BUT A WAYMO RIDER TOLD REUTERS HE RODE A ROBOTAXI THE NEXT DAY THROUGH ANOTHER SAN FRANCISCO CROWD– AS FIREWORKS WERE SHOT AT THE CAR.