“This is it. We’re dead. We’re going to die right here in the Waymo.”
This combined with another recent article from some insiders at Tesla saying, along the lines, “You couldn’t pay me to let one of these things drive me somewhere.”
And yet I still know people who are just so chuffed about “never having to drive again.”
EDIT: Comments have pointed out that this story is, at best, overblown and semi-fabricated otherwise. Take it with a massive grain of salt. But feel free to discuss self-driving, waymo, etc in the comments!
They still have a wheel and pedals. If the car acts up, you are responsible to take over and maintain safety.
This isn’t someone’s personal vehicle, waymos are self-driving taxis with nobody in the driver’s seat. You are no more responsible for the behavior of the vehicle than you would be as a passenger in an ordinary taxi.
How is one supposed to reach the pedals from the back seat, where you’re supposed to be sitting in a waymo?
I’m no fan of all this half-baked self-driving bullshit, but there’s no need to mischaracterize the problem, especially when waymo is doing plenty on its own to discredit its abilities.
I googled it before posting, and the pages I saw showed a full regular steering wheel and said you could sit in the front seat. If that’s not correct, then Google’s page is wrong. I’ve never used one myself and don’t plan to any time in the near future.
They do not start if you are in the driver’s seat.
A self driving vehicle that you own, sure, but the point of a taxi is that you aren’t supposed to drive. A passenger doesn’t need a drivers license to enter a taxi, doesn’t need to think about how much they’ve had to drink. Also im not from the US but do these things even have steering wheels and pedals? I tried searching and found some articles where Wayne unveiled cars without them, but couldn’t see if they’re now in use commonly.
From videos I’ve seen, they do, but passengers go in the back seat. They use modified jaguar ipaces. Would not be easy or safe to get into the front and take control in an emergency…