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Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides on freeways in LA, SF and Phoenix

(techcrunch.com)
281 points nharada | 6 comments | 12 Nov 25 16:06 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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greesil ◴[12 Nov 25 16:57 UTC] No.45902531[source]▶
I have seen a Waymo do a very stupid thing where it darted across a busy street, and it left very little margin of error for the oncoming traffic, which happened to be a loaded dump truck that could not have stopped. The dump truck driver was clearly surprised. It was a move that I never would have made as a driver. Did they dial the aggression up? I'm sure they're safer than humans in aggregate as there are some dumb humans out there but it's not infallible.
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brokencode ◴[12 Nov 25 17:01 UTC] No.45902583[source]▶
Waymo continues to improve every year, but dumb drivers never will.
replies(2): >>45902626 #>>45905200 #
izzydata ◴[12 Nov 25 17:04 UTC] No.45902626[source]▶
It is probably possible to get drivers to improve if the incentives were there or if they had no choice due to external factors. I bet it would be cheaper than money spent on self driving tech too.

Or public transit on a track.

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jeffbee ◴[12 Nov 25 17:06 UTC] No.45902650[source]▶
American drivers specifically can be improved. Every other country stands as an existence proof of that.
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1. some_random ◴[12 Nov 25 17:08 UTC] No.45902675{3}[source]▶
You clearly haven't been to very many countries if you think American drivers are the worst out there.
replies(1): >>45902791 #
2. jeffbee ◴[12 Nov 25 17:17 UTC] No.45902791[source]▶
I don't need to travel to learn this: https://www.onlinesafetytrainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/...
replies(3): >>45902816 #>>45902977 #>>45903529 #
3. some_random ◴[12 Nov 25 17:19 UTC] No.45902816[source]▶
Ah of course, all other thirty seven countries of the world.
replies(1): >>45905255 #
4. eloncuck ◴[12 Nov 25 17:30 UTC] No.45902977[source]▶
Not normalized per miles driven? Sure, makes sense chief.
5. triceratops ◴[12 Nov 25 18:08 UTC] No.45903529[source]▶
What about non-OECD countries? I'm told those are actually most of the world's population and driving.
6. krainboltgreene ◴[12 Nov 25 19:41 UTC] No.45905255{3}[source]▶
True, the UK is basically an alien civilization compared to the average american state. No comparison is meaningful unless we compare it to every nation state in the world.