Robotaxis Do Crazy Stuff

I think we can say that self-driving cars are still not ready for Prime Time.

We start with the serious bit. The Waymo recalls nearly 4,000 robotaxis after vehicle drove into flood

Have they lost their Way-mo?

They weren't programmed to understand flooded streets, so it drove in. One of the most dangerous things you can do is drive into flood waters.

According to the NHTSA, which is probing the mishap, the software recall applies to Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS).

The recall was prompted by an incident that occurred on April 20, when a self-driving car drove into a flooded creek in San Antonio amid inclement weather and was swept away, CNBC reported. Thankfully, there were no passengers aboard at the time.

That could have been a tragedy.

Waymo said that they have “identified an area of improvement."

Gee, ya think?

Now for a bit of levity from Atlanta. Empty Waymos won’t stop circling this cul-de-sac in Atlanta, unsettling residents. And while it is ridiculous, the people in the neighborhoods impacted (it is more than one) are not laughing.

A seemingly unending stream of Waymos have been rolling through a quiet, dead-end street in Northwest Atlanta in recent weeks, looping around the cul-de-sac — usually early in the morning — and clogging the road when residents tried to stop them.

The residents of that neighborhood contacted Waymo (a division of Alphabet/Google) and were ignored.

You can find the video of the Waymo taxis invading that Atlanta neighborhood at this link: Empty Waymos invade Atlanta neighborhood, circle cul-de-sac for hours with no passengers

The hat tip for all of this goes to MGUY Australia and his video Hilariously BAD week for Waymo.