Based on key yardsticks, Waymo, the driverless car division of Google, has a large lead in the sector. It is being tested in 15 markets. It is considered ahead of Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) Robotaxi on this basis alone. Furthermore, several legacy car companies have been trying to catch up, but they are miles behind. There may be one or two companies in China that can match some of its features. However, a recent series of accidents, which were spread across the front pages, shows that Waymo is not much more than a sophisticated toy.
The New York Times published a lengthy report about a series of incidents in San Francisco, the world’s tech capital. On July 4, a fireworks display near the Golden Gate Bridge snarled traffic. The list of accidents and incidents is long.
During the event, Waymo cars were caught in intersections. Some drivers were stuck behind Waymo vehicles for as much as three hours. A firework went off under one of its cars. A passenger said it smelled as if the car were on fire and walked the rest of the way to a hotel. Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University emeritus professor who specializes in autonomous vehicles, commented to The New York Times, “This technology struggles to know when it’s in a novel situation. And when it’s in a novel situation, it’s prone to overconfidence and spectacularly stupid failure.” The paper then wondered if Waymo was not much more than a “sophisticated toy.”
The stories about Waymo problems include recalls and cars that stop without warning.
Waymo has more driverless cars on the road than any company outside China. But the test of these companies is currently whether they are safe. This is not just a question for possible riders and owners. It is a test given by the authorities that approve their use. A loss of confidence is a large erosion of the opinion regarding whether they get on the road in any significant numbers.
The only advance Waymo has had recently is a number of steps backward.
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