A Waymo Plowed Through a Construction Zone, Floored It, and Got Chased by the Cops With a Terrified Passenger Along for the Ride

[NY_Rob]

It's interesting that they had to have Scotty do that and not just tell the computer, right?

"There are certain things men must do to remain men..".

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[s4wrxttcs]

Yet, I'm still going to pick a Waymo over an Uber.

Last time I was in the Uber we did the "Who farted Glances" as it suddenly stunk.

I made a record of my Uber Score as I was curious if he would blame me.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Also, I'm not the only crazy person who's willing to pay MORE to ride autonomous taxis over people-driven taxis. Some study a year or two ago showed that most people will pay more to avoid the uncertainty of taxis/Uber/Lyft.

That's part of it

• It's blissful not having to talk to anyone.
• You don't have to worry about the driver being sick. In an Uber I always crack open the window just in case.
• No tipping
• You don't have to check your rating as there is no rating. At least not yet. Would be amusing to get rated by a bot.
• In my experience Waymo has never suddenly canceled right before picking me up

There are downsides

• For people who like talking they miss the socialization with the driver
• There is no driver to help out in case you have any disabilities. One time a Waymo had me walk a couple hundred feet or more because it suddenly decided that it had issues with the pickup point. Would sucked if I had a disability
• Occasionally the Software has a brain fart.

 

[SwampNut]

I've never had a Waymo with body parts held on with duck tape (yes, that's correct, not duct), nor with a rear wheel bearing that was a few miles from flying off.

Never had one that smelled like a goat with what appeared to be chicken shit on the floor (late night Vegas taxi, also with 350k hard miles on it).

You *can* rate the Waymo however.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I've been in some pretty smelly Ubers, and I've had more than one Uber driver think they were auditioning for NASCAR. The data shows Waymo is safer than human drivers. I see all sorts of terrible drivers out on the road, and I'll take my chances with the robot that's not high, or drunk, or in a hurry to get home.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Apparently, the future will be filled with misanthropes who feel so threatened by their fellow citizens, they will eschew any human contact outside of their small circle of family and trusted friends. As I wrote previously with intended sarcasm, but unintended prophetic accuracy:

I look forward to scanning kiosks and their growing proliferation. No need to chit chat with cashiers, just swipe and go with no awkward human interaction.

I look forward to robocalls and the efficiency and profits they promise. No need to explain to a human the unique circumstances of my situation that are not pre-scripted. Just spend hours in fruitless attempts to resolve unpleasant situations.

I look forward to automated insurance adjusters. No need to wait for and explain to an agent the extent of destruction and discuss policy coverage. Just upload some pictures and wait for a check to arrive.

I look forward to further advancements in robo surgeons and the precision they promise. No need to rely on the insight and experience of a bright and gifted human who is prone to err. Just trust the computerized, sterile machine to slice and stitch and respond instantly to any of thousands of pre-programmed complications.

I look forward to Cyber sex and the pleasure it promises. No need to deal with awkward and potentially infected Humans and the emotional aftermath, or the financial strain of raising offspring. Just apply the bio sensors and let the machine read the physiological feedback and bring me to orgasmic climax without any ickiness, guilt or uncomfortable cuddling.

I look forward to a future in which none of us ever have to see, speak to, or interact with any other humans ever. Imagine such a blissful utopia, and how much more interesting our lives will be!

I'm pretty sure we're already in that sad future.

If you look at dating, friendships, employment, etc.

On social media we stopped having conversations despite using social media to socialize. It's not a substitute because its typically filled with hostility. The content of them is nothing close to what people would say to each other in real life. Most often I choose to first have a conversation with AI because at least AI is nice. Contrary to popular belief It doesn't always support my beliefs and that's how I want it. For example I tried to tell AI that whoever was pretending to be Bob Dylan at his concert wasn't Bob Dylan, but the AI wasn't having any of that. It just told me that all my justifications for my viewpoint was simply Bob Dylan being Bob Dylan. It nipped my conspiracy theory in the butt.

The housing crises is getting worse because no one trusts anyone. I have two houses to myself where I could benefit from having a roommate in both houses, but I don't. I simply don't trust people and the eviction laws are ridiculous.

At the grocery store I'd use self check out all the time if I didn't panic over vegetables, fruits, etc.

Why would I need to interact with anyone? I'm 50+ so I'm basically nonexistent to anyone except my GF.

Plus who is there to interact with? They're all on their cell phones.

Wall-E world is where we're at.

 

[skyguyscott]

I'm pretty sure we're already in that sad future.
...
Wall-E world is where we're at.

Well, yeah, that is the sort of dystopian future we are choosing to live, but my larger point, larger than just Waymo taxis and checkout kiosks was that we don't have to, and maybe, just maybe we shouldn't.

I say that, but I'm as guilty as the next human at sometimes choosing to go to the kiosk, because the line at the manned checkout is longer. But even I recognize that in choosing speed and connivence, I am giving up some social interaction, however fleeting and inconsequential it may seem. Yet I have to believe every time we interact with someone else, we remind ourselves at some level that everything isn't always just about us, that we share space and time and have something we used to call obligation to each other.

I am not the only one to notice the decline in empathy across our society, and we can speculate on causes and blame social media and iPhones and further isolate ourselves in bubbles of comfort and ignore anything we don't like, but I am not sure that does our country, our world or our species any good.

But sure, there are times when we want and frankly need to get away from people, but is solitary confinement the end goal? Will we end up being buried by a robot, our funeral live streamed so some AI-optimized corporation can monetize the clicks it generates? That's not the best future I'd choose. So when I personally self-drive my Rivian to Kroger tomorrow, I'm really gonna try to use the manned checkout lane, as long as it's there, and smile and say a few words to the soul on the other side of the conveyer belt. That'll hardly save the country, but it couldn't hurt.

 

[Great Gatsby]

Well, yeah, that is the sort of dystopian future we are choosing to live, but my larger point, larger than just Waymo taxis and checkout kiosks was that we don't have to, and maybe, just maybe we shouldn't.

I say that, but I'm as guilty as the next human at sometimes choosing to go to the kiosk, because the line at the manned checkout is longer. But even I recognize that in choosing speed and connivence, I am giving up some social interaction, however fleeting and inconsequential it may seem. Yet I have to believe every time we interact with someone else, we remind ourselves at some level that everything isn't always just about us, that we share space and time and have something we used to call obligation to each other.

I am not the only one to notice the decline in empathy across our society, and we can speculate on causes and blame social media and iPhones and further isolate ourselves in bubbles of comfort and ignore anything we don't like, but I am not sure that does our country, our world or our species any good.

But sure, there are times when we want and frankly need to get away from people, but is solitary confinement the end goal? Will we end up being buried by a robot, our funeral live streamed so some AI-optimized corporation can monetize the clicks it generates? That's not the best future I'd choose. So when I personally self-drive my Rivian to Kroger tomorrow, I'm really gonna try to use the manned checkout lane, as long as it's there, and smile and say a few words to the soul on the other side of the conveyer belt. That'll hardly save the country, but it couldn't hurt.

I see what you are saying, but as social creatures, the social aspect our society is not going anywhere. It is just moving away from being forced with these interactions that I'm sure a lot of us would just prefer moved along.

For an introvert, what you describe sounds great. Society already caters heavily to those who are extroverted, so I don't foresee doom and gloom and complete social isolation. If anything, I appreciate that those of who don't want to be forced into interaction now have the choice not to.

This is not the end of the world. Go work for any company right now. See how much they will force you to come into an office and go to happy hours outside of work hours if you want any hopes at getting promoted. The social game will always be there. Plenty of opportunities to socialize. Work, sporting events, coffee shops, breweries, etc. Someone choosing to enjoy a peaceful ride somewhere without the extra pressure of having to socialize with a random stranger is not the end of the world. Everything is going to be fine.

 

[mkhuffman]

I see what you are saying, but as social creatures, the social aspect our society is not going anywhere. It is just moving away from being forced with these interactions that I'm sure a lot of us would just prefer moved along.

For an introvert, what you describe sounds great. Society already caters heavily to those who are extroverted, so I don't foresee doom and gloom and complete social isolation. If anything, I appreciate that those of who don't want to be forced into interaction now have the choice not to.

This is not the end of the world. Go work for any company right now. See how much they will force you to come into an office and go to happy hours outside of work hours if you want any hopes at getting promoted. The social game will always be there. Plenty of opportunities to socialize. Work, sporting events, coffee shops, breweries, etc. Someone choosing to enjoy a peaceful ride somewhere without the extra pressure of having to socialize with a random stranger is not the end of the world. Everything is going to be fine.

I agree. This doom and gloom about AI and automation is overblown. Yes, there will be people who disconnect from social interactions, but people need social interactions. Disconnecting is unhealthy, even for introverts.

I predict automation is going to improve the quality of our lives and give people more time to really get to know others. My kids grew up socializing through video games, and they still do that sometimes, but now they go out of their way to see their friends and do things together. It is natural, and everything is going to be fine. As you said.

And if you are in a Waymo, you are going somewhere and not hiding in your home.

 

[LevelHeaded]

Then Life happens, and the system fails, and the engineers act surprised

Trust me, the engineers are not surprised. The execs? Maybe.

 

[TexasBob]

The data released today is very definitive:
220.6 million rider-only miles through March 2026 across five metro areas (Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta) on surface streets. Each reduction compares the Waymo Driver to the average human driver in the same geographies over the same period, regardless of which party was at fault:
• 94% fewer crashes causing serious or fatal injuries (≈47 avoided).
• 82% fewer crashes with an airbag deployment (≈305 avoided).
• 82% fewer crashes involving any reported injury (≈707 avoided).
• Vulnerable road users: 93% fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians, 84% fewer cyclists, 84% fewer motorcyclists.

People can choose what they want, but a 80% - 95% lower rate of accidents is a phenomenal improvement. Converting the June 2026 Incidents per Million Miles (IPMM) data into a "miles-between-crashes" format yields the following intervals.

• Any-Injury-Reported Crashes
  • Human Benchmark: 3.91 IPMM. This mathematically translates to one injury crash every ~255,000 miles.
  • Waymo Fleet: 0.71 IPMM. This translates to one injury crash every ~1.4 million miles.
• Airbag Deployment Crashes (Any Vehicle)
  • Human Benchmark: 1.68 IPMM. This translates to one airbag deployment crash every ~595,000 miles.
  • Waymo Fleet: 0.30 IPMM. This translates to one airbag deployment crash every ~3.3 million miles.
• Serious Injury or Worse Crashes
  • Human Benchmark: 0.23 IPMM. This translates to one serious/fatal crash every ~4.3 million miles.
  • Waymo Fleet: 0.01 IPMM. This translates to one serious/fatal crash every 100 million miles.

This is why I absolutely will not buy another vehicle that is not genuinely L3/L4 capable.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

The data released today is very definitive:
220.6 million rider-only miles through March 2026 across five metro areas (Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta) on surface streets. Each reduction compares the Waymo Driver to the average human driver in the same geographies over the same period, regardless of which party was at fault:
• 94% fewer crashes causing serious or fatal injuries (≈47 avoided).
• 82% fewer crashes with an airbag deployment (≈305 avoided).
• 82% fewer crashes involving any reported injury (≈707 avoided).
• Vulnerable road users: 93% fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians, 84% fewer cyclists, 84% fewer motorcyclists.

People can choose what they want, but a 80% - 95% lower rate of accidents is a phenomenal improvement. Converting the June 2026 Incidents per Million Miles (IPMM) data into a "miles-between-crashes" format yields the following intervals.

• Any-Injury-Reported Crashes
  • Human Benchmark: 3.91 IPMM. This mathematically translates to one injury crash every ~255,000 miles.
  • Waymo Fleet: 0.71 IPMM. This translates to one injury crash every ~1.4 million miles.
• Airbag Deployment Crashes (Any Vehicle)
  • Human Benchmark: 1.68 IPMM. This translates to one airbag deployment crash every ~595,000 miles.
  • Waymo Fleet: 0.30 IPMM. This translates to one airbag deployment crash every ~3.3 million miles.
• Serious Injury or Worse Crashes
  • Human Benchmark: 0.23 IPMM. This translates to one serious/fatal crash every ~4.3 million miles.
  • Waymo Fleet: 0.01 IPMM. This translates to one serious/fatal crash every 100 million miles.

This is why I absolutely will not buy another vehicle that is not genuinely L3/L4 capable.

My understanding is that Waymo generally avoids high-speed roads, so these data may be somewhat biased. However, I suspect the biases aren't huge, so I still consider this impressive.

Best to all!

 

[SwampNut]

This is why I absolutely will not buy another vehicle that is not genuinely L3/L4 capable.

My Rivian just failed to detect or help with a crash that I’m certain would have been prevented by a Waymo or Tesla. I guess I should start a thread about it.

 

[TexasBob]

My Rivian just failed to detect or help with a crash that I’m certain would have been prevented by a Waymo or Tesla. I guess I should start a thread about it.

Very sorry, that is rotten

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