In a shocking turn of events, an angry mob in San Francisco has destroyed a Waymo self-driving taxi. The incident occurred when the vehicle was surrounded by the mob, who proceeded to graffiti the car, break its windows, and even set off a firework inside, causing the entire vehicle to catch fire. Fortunately, no one was inside the car at the time.
The San Francisco Fire Department confirmed the incident, stating, “Waymo Vehicle surrounded and then graffiti’d [sic], windows were broken, and firework lit on fire inside the vehicle which ultimately caught the entire vehicle on fire.” The department’s account aligns with footage of the event that has surfaced online.
The motive behind the mob’s actions remains unclear. However, it is worth noting that a Waymo vehicle was involved in an accident with a cyclist recently. Waymo claimed that the incident occurred because the cyclist emerged from behind a large truck, and the car could not react in time to avoid the collision once it detected the bike. However, there is no evidence to suggest that angry cyclists seeking revenge were involved in the destruction of the self-driving taxi.
San Francisco was no stranger to self-driving cars until Cruise, a robotaxi business, decided to park its entire fleet following a series of incidents. One such incident involved a woman being hit and dragged for six meters under a driverless car. Another saw a robocar getting stuck in wet cement, while ten cars came to a halt due to wireless connection failures.
Waymo, the brand that took over Google’s autonomous car efforts, has also faced its fair share of challenges. However, in early 2023, they celebrated reaching one million miles of autonomous operations without a fatality. It is worth noting that there have been 20 “contact incidents” involving Waymo cars, with half of them caused by human drivers hitting the autonomous vehicles.
The most recent incident took place just eight blocks away from The Register’s San Francisco office. Fortunately, as the incident occurred on a Saturday night, no vultures were in danger.
This incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by self-driving car companies. While autonomous vehicles hold great promise for the future of transportation, incidents like these highlight the need for continuous improvement and safety measures to ensure public trust in this emerging technology.
