Waymo started a progressive tour for its self-driving cars that launched in Santa Monica and Venice. Karma Dickerson reports for the NBC4 News on Oct. 11, 2023.
In a city known for sprawling freeways, a new type of vehicle will begin to merge into Los Angeles traffic.
Angelenos will now share the road with autonomous ride-hailing services that are revolutionizing commuting. But at the same time, these vehicles raise essential questions about safety.
As of February, Waymo had been gearing up to start autonomous testing of its Jaguar I-Paces in Los Angeles without the presence of human safety operators, TechCrunch reported. Waymo has been mapping various Los Angeles neighborhoods such as downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown, and Westwood for a few years.
Come Oct. 11, Waymo began integrating into areas like Santa Monica and make its way to downtown LA, meaning Southern Californians will soon experience what people in San Francisco and Phoenix have been experiencing since 2022.
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Users can hail a ride by downloading the Waymo One App and getting sent an invite code to get started when it’s their turn to ride. Once the passenger enters their destination, the Waymo ride begins and the vehicle proceeds to take off using its own programmed directions.
On Wednesday, 80-year-old George Davis became one of the early adopters. Davis, who described himself as a techie, hurriedly shuffled toward one of the vehicles, propping himself up with a cane.
“This is the biggest change ever,” Davis exclaimed.
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Waymo's robot taxis have received mixed reviews, though, with reports of incidents such as traffic jams, obstruction of emergency vehicles and minor accidents.
On Sept. 11 in San Francisco, a Waymo vehicle and another driver collided when the Waymo car came to a stop in traffic, according to the California DMV archives.
Earlier this August, also in San Francisco, a self-driving Cruise car carrying Senior Investigative Reporter Bigad Shaban from NBC Bay Area and a driving instructor unexpectedly swerved toward the center divider and remained stationary for 20 minutes. This caused a significant traffic backup that stretched for several blocks.
As of Sept. 22, 659 crashes involving autonomous vehicles were reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
As the technology continues to be a trial-and-error endeavor, it becomes vital to consider the safety of autonomous vehicles to ensure their seamless integration into urban environments. However, Waymo is confident its robot taxis are safer than human-driven vehicles.
“The average human driver is not the best driver. Most folks on the road are looking at their cell phone,” said Ellie Casson, head of city policy and government affairs at Waymo.
Passengers in Southern California can hail their first ride for free starting Oct. 11 and can get a complimentary Waymo ride by acquiring an access code from the Waymo booth located at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
