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

(techcrunch.com)
277 points nharada | 2 comments | 12 Nov 25 16:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.421s | source
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s1mon ◴[12 Nov 25 16:48 UTC] No.45902388[source]▶
How will Waymos handle speed limits on highways? In the city, they seem to stick to the rules. A large percentage of drivers in the bay area, including non-emergency police, drive well above the legal limit regularly. Unless Waymo sticks to the slow lane, it's going to be a weird issue.
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cortesoft ◴[12 Nov 25 17:06 UTC] No.45902654[source]▶
Luckily this won't be a problem in Los Angeles, because traffic prevents you from ever going over the speed limit.
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edm0nd ◴[12 Nov 25 19:05 UTC] No.45904540[source]▶
I remember my buddy telling me it would sometimes take him 2 hours to go a few miles in LA traffic and sometimes he would just walk to work instead because he'd get there faster.
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asdff ◴[12 Nov 25 20:53 UTC] No.45906498[source]▶
2 hours for a few miles is pure hyperbole. In my experience bad highway traffic moves at like 20mph.
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1. rkomorn ◴[12 Nov 25 21:07 UTC] No.45906703[source]▶
It used to take me 50 minutes to go 11 miles on 101/110 from studio city to downtown LA, so 20mph seems optimistic.

Heck, it wasn't even all that rare for it to take me 45 minutes to go 5 miles on 101 from Rengstorff Ave to Willow Rd in the Bay Area in 6pm rush hour just because of the exit.

It even once took me 2h to make it from Candlestick Park to the 101 after an NFL game.

So yeah, maybe 2 hours for a few miles isn't quite right, but I've experienced daily counterexamples to your 20mph number too.

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2. asdff ◴[12 Nov 25 23:57 UTC] No.45908647[source]▶
Usually the backup on the 101s doesn't start until santa monica blvd and clears up after alvarado.

That being said, you also have a heavy rail alternative.