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Waymo is currently on an expansion spree for its fleet of self-driving taxis, but it appears that the company can't keep trouble out of those plans. After reports of unexplained stalling, blocking traffic, and even driving in circles with a passenger stuck inside, the erratic driving behavior of these autonomous taxis is now in the spotlight. "I had never seen anyone switch lanes in that tunnel. It's driving more like a taxi driver — an aggressive, New York taxi driver," a witness was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal.
The outlet reports that Waymo cars are apparently driving with a more rushed approach and testing the traffic regulations. So far, these self-driving cars have drawn ire for taking an overtly cautious approach to driving, but it appears the algorithms have been tweaked. A frequent Waymo passenger told the outlet that Waymo cars are now getting closer to other cars than what a human driver usually would, adding that on a few occasions, the cars went "really close."
However, it appears that Waymo's cars are not only acting like rash cab drivers while maneuvering, but also in a few other ways. Two other sources told WSJ that the autonomous taxi parked erroneously on the other side of the road, and when they parked across it, the car accelerated. Broadly, Waymo users are reporting a slightly more aggressive driving behavior. Waymo, however, argues that its self-driving taxis are involved in 91% fewer accidents compared to human drivers after having collectively logged roughly 100 million miles driven on public roads. Human factors and traffic laws are conversely seen as an obstacle for self-driving cars. In Waymo's case, it seems its cars' new driving patterns aren't a bug, but a deliberate shift.
A rough patch
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Chris Ludwick, a senior director of product management at Waymo, told WSJ that the company is attempting to make the driverless cars more confident and assertive. Ludwick added that when cars are playing it too passively, they can end up disrupting the traffic around them. "That was really necessary for us to actually scale this up in San Francisco, especially because of how busy it gets," Ludwick said. But it appears that this shift in driving behavior has attracted a healthy few controversies.
Within a span of a few weeks, a Waymo car killed a beloved neighborhood cat and then ran over a dog. In the former case, Waymo argued that their cars don't have sensors that can look underneath the car, leading to the tragic death of the feline. The incidents drew widespread backlash over the safety of self-driving cars. In a separate incident, a Waymo car captured on video driving through an active crime scene where a suspect was being held at gunpoint in Los Angeles. In a statement shared with NBC News, Waymo noted that it was an unusual event.
In Northern California, a Waymo ride was recorded making an illegal U-turn, and when the police pulled it over, they couldn't write a ticket because there was no driver behind the wheel. It appears that the events have not gone unnoticed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into Waymo after 19 reported incidents in which the self-driving cars were captured passing parked school buses. Waymo told ABCNews that it has released software updates to fix the behavior, but it's unclear whether the software fix also covers the newfound "confidently assertive" driving pattern of these autonomous taxis.