Waymo temporarily suspended freeway operations for autonomous taxis in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami, preventing freeway trips such as to SFO during the holiday weekend. The company said software improvements are needed so vehicles can better navigate construction zones on freeways. The move followed a prior suspension of all service in Atlanta, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas due to extreme weather and issues involving driving into flooded areas. That earlier suspension came after a recall related to flood problems. Waymo stated safety is its top priority and said it paused freeway routes while integrating recent technical learnings, expecting to resume soon. Reports also pointed to rider accounts of unsafe behavior in a Bay Area construction zone.
"Waymo announced that it was pulling its autonous taxis off of freeways in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami, saying that software improvements need to be made to improve the vehicles' performance in construction zones. You won't be able to take a Waymo to SFO this holiday weekend, at least not via any freeway, because the company has temporarily suspended freeway service in multiple cities."
"Waymo issued a statement on the suspension, saying that it relates to how well its vehicles navigate construction zones on freeways. "Safety is Waymo's top priority, both for our riders and everyone we share the road with," the company said. "We have temporarily paused freeway operations, as we work to integrate recent technical learnings into our software and expect to resume these routes soon.""
"While Waymo cited no specific incident that prompted the suspension, multiple media sources have pointed to a video posted to Xitter earlier this week by a rider in the Bay Area, involving strange Waymo behavior in a construction zone with traffic. "Just saw death flash before my eyes in a [Waymo]," writes Elliot Slade. "I use these a lot on the city but tonight we took the freeway and the road was closed. Waymo freaked out and sped up to highway speeds through construction trucks, police chased us.""
"Slade added, "The Waymo blasted through cones, swerved huge trucks and sped away from the cops. ... Genuinely the freakiest experience I've ever had, felt utterly helpless. These are not ready for highways." The Waymo blasted through cones, swerved huge trucks and sped away from the cops. Was kinda freaking out"
Read at sfist.com
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