As a driverless taxi slows down a dark street in San Francisco, it is soon surrounded by a group of masked men.
Someone puts a traffic cone on the hood of the car. This triggers the Vehicle Hazard Warning. The car stopped. Disabled, writes AFP.
According to the news agency, the scene has been repeated dozens of times in the city over the past week – the so-called action of activists protesting against the spread of robot cars, which they consider unsafe.
We think all cars are bad, no matter who or what is driving, says one activist.
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He is a member of the activist group Safe Street Rebel, which operates in a pedestrian and bike friendly city. They completely disagree with the claims that self-driving cars are a new and revolutionary mode of transportation.
Using traffic cones, activists recently disrupted driverless taxis operated by Waymo and Cruise. They are currently the only accredited companies in San Francisco.
With the help of traffic cones, activists are trying to disable self-driving cars.
Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP
It is no coincidence that protests are now emerging. The country’s authorities are considering expanding the business to a 24-hour paid service.
The California Commission of the Public (CPUS), which oversees autonomous taxis in the state, will allow Waymo and Cruise to compete against companies like Uber and Lyft.
Self-driving cars were first introduced in San Francisco in 2014. Then with a mandatory human driver on board as collateral. Four years later, the state rescinded the requirement to do so.
Many people are tired of self-driving cars stopping in the middle of the road.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/AFP
The police worried
Now city officials have expressed concern about the growing number of accidents involving self-driving cars. According to AFP information, many self-driving cars stopped in the middle of the road and bus lanes were blocked. There are even reports of cars ramming police barricades.
To date, no fatal accidents have been recorded among people. But in June, a self-driving car reportedly hit and killed a dog.
also bloomberg He writes that there has been an increase in incidents where security has not been optimal in the past year. Many lawmakers have moved toward expanding the areas and hours that self-driving cars can drive.
spilled It recorded 92 accidents involving self-driving taxis last year.
Two Bloomberg journalists tested the service themselves. They wrote that Waymo’s cars were very careful, and that they mostly drove below the speed limit.
A few random signals and strange attempts to change lanes were mentioned, but most of the rides were comfortable.
Parked Cruise Cars, which is one of two authorized companies in San Francisco at the moment.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/AFP
Decision in August
Aaron Peskin of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors condemned the Consumer Protection Committee’s decision to ramp up the use of self-driving cars.
Several AFP spoke to, who use Waymo and Cruise’s services, say they feel safer with a driverless car. Some believe that ordinary taxi drivers are underpaid because their salary depends on the number of trips.
The final CPU decision is scheduled to be announced on August 10, after being delayed twice.
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