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Who’s driving Waymo’s self-driving cars? Sometimes, the police.

TechCrunch·@SeanOKane·2 months ago
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Last August, a fire ripped through 10 acres of grass on either side of California’s I-280 near Redwood City. Traffic backed up as firefighters extinguished the blaze, and California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers directed drivers to turn around and travel the wrong way to exit the freeway. Some of those drivers encountered a new obstacle: a Waymo robotaxi. Footage of the incident shows the Waymo AV tried to pass stopped traffic by traveling on the shoulder, only to wind up reversing away from the oncoming wrong-way cars, before stopping altogether. The robotaxi wouldn’t budge, despite efforts from the company’s remote assistance team. So, Waymo turned to a resource that has become a reliable problem solver and called 911. “Highway patrol turned everyone around, but unfortunately our car is not able to turn around,” one of Waymo’s remote assistance workers told an area 911 dispatcher, according to a recording obtained by TechCrunch in a public records request.…

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