A Waymo robotaxi’s extended excursion into oncoming traffic in San Francisco has the Google-Sister company put under pressure to explain. A video posted online shows the vehicle crossing a solid line and traveling in the oncoming lane for approximately 30 seconds. A group of people were traveling on electric unicycle scooters in the evening traffic on the two lanes on the correct side. Instead of waiting for them to drive through, the software decided to drive alongside in oncoming traffic.
Waymo defended the vehicle’s behavior. The software assumed that one of the people could fall and therefore “carefully” switched to the free oncoming lane, a spokeswoman explained on Monday.
Afterwards, for the safety of the scooter drivers, the car stayed in the opposite lane so as not to get close to them and not to cut off anyone’s path. The safety of all road users has top priority and we will learn from this “unique event”. The entire maneuver was decided and carried out by the software, she emphasized.
The Waymo robotaxis, on the other hand, have been traveling in San Francisco in recent months without any major incidents. Traditionally, residents and public transport companies tend to accuse them of acting too timidly and therefore occasionally blocking traffic. In recent years, developers of self-driving cars have tried to adapt the software more closely to the behavior of people in unconventional situations.