Share
News

Parking Lot Full of Self-Driving Cars Turns Into Nightmare Situation for Neighbors: 'Absurd'

Share

In movies, the attack of autonomous creations to destroy humanity comes with spectacular drama.

In San Francisco, it is just a beeping, endless string of sleepless nights.

“Over the past two weeks I’ve been woken up more times overnight than I have combined over 20 years,” San Francisco resident Russell Pofsky said, according to KGO-TV.

“It’s just really, really… it’s tough. It affects the way you feel,” Pofsky said.

The culprit is a parking lot where Waymo autonomous vehicles are parked. Waymo advertises itself as an “autonomous driving technology” that it claims helps people navigate the streets of San Francisco safely.

But at night, Waymo vehicles honk at one another, beginning for a reason known only to them and ending on similar grounds, according to KGO.

Randol White recalled his discovery of the problem.

Would you ever ride in a self-driving car?

Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge via email. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

“I was like, where is that coming from? And I looked down, and I was like, I think it’s coming from the Waymo cars,” White said.

First came a 4 a.m. session.

“But then it happened again, and again, and I started thinking, well this is an issue,” White said.

Christopher Cherry who lives near the lot, said the nesting Waymo vehicles seemed to take on a life of their own, according to KNTV-TV.

“We started out with a couple of honks here and there, and then as more and more cars started to arrive, the situation got worse, ” Cherry said, noting the 4 a.m. is peak honking time.

Related:
Ford Receives Second-Highest NHTSA Fine Ever Over Safety Issue

“It’s very distracting during the work day, but most importantly it wakes you up at four in the morning,” he said.

“The cars are robotic and they’re honking at each other and there’s no one in the cars when it’s happening, and that’s absurd,” Cherry said.

Because the cars have no driver there is no way to ask one of the cars to please shut up.

“I think the most frustrating thing about this is that there is just nobody to talk to, and even at the corporate level, I am finding it difficult, [if] not impossible,” White said.

According to The Verge, Waymo says it is bringing peace back to the neighborhood.

Waymo representative Chris Bonelli said the path to chaos was paved with good intentions.

“We recently introduced a useful feature to help avoid low-speed collisions by honking if other cars get too close while reversing toward us,” he said.

“It has been working great in the city, but we didn’t quite anticipate it would happen so often in our own parking lots. We’ve updated the software, so our electric vehicles should keep the noise down for our neighbors moving forward,” Bonelli said.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , ,
Share
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.

Conversation