After gunshots in entertainment district: Waymo taxi blocks ambulance in Austin
Over the weekend, several people were shot in Austin, Texas. An ambulance was then blocked by a Waymo taxi that was parked across the street.
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An autonomous and driverless taxi from Waymo blocked an ambulance in Austin, Texas, on Sunday night as it was en route to a crime scene where several people were shot. The local newspaper My San Antonio reports this, citing a viral video of the incident. The video was spread on TikTok and shows the autonomous taxi parked across a street, completely blocking it. The ambulance eventually backs up and takes an alternative route before a police officer gets into the Waymo taxi and drives it out of the way. The provider has confirmed that the vehicle was on its way to a customer.
Waymo incidents repeatedly attract attention
Waymo's autonomous taxis are allowed to transport passengers in several US cities without a safety person at the wheel. Around 2500 vehicles are booked about 400,000 times a week, and in most cases, this works without problems. At the same time, disruptions receive particular attention due to Waymo's pioneering role. In October, a Waymo taxi ran over a cat in San Francisco, for example, which led to much criticism. In addition, authorities in various cities have criticized that Waymo's autonomous vehicles pass school buses, even though this is prohibited during the boarding and alighting of children. The company has promised a software update to correct this behavior.
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The incident in Austin occurred after an armed attack in an entertainment district, in which the attacker shot two people and himself. While people were trying to get to safety, emergency services rushed to the scene. The Waymo taxi was in the way. In the video, you can hear someone shouting, “That's why we shouldn't have self-driving cars.” Another person shouts at the car: “Drive!” Even after a police officer got into the car, it took a considerable amount of time before he could drive it off the road. The police stated that they followed the procedures for dealing with such a situation, the US magazine Axios quotes.
(mho)
