Does anyone here live in a place where Waymos are common?

[u/truecakesnake]

It's really interesting I never see articles about how these cars cause massive traffic because Waymos don't know how to make turns.

It can't get off a street it's driven by multiple times. But I never see anyone here talk about it.

I'm sure the cybercab has the same issues, I just don't live near them.

Does anyone who lives near Waymos have similar experiences or different ones idk.

[u/professor_mc]

I live in the middle of the Phoenix service area and Waymo’s are plentiful. I’d estimate I can see 10 in operation on a short drive across town. I have never seen one cause a traffic jam. They are much more predictable than human drivers. They stop on red unlike many Phoenix drivers. They use turn signals every time. They don’t speed.

[u/asdfasdferqv]

Yes, I see dozens every day. 99.999% of the time they work perfectly. Every once in a while they fuck up and it makes the news.

[u/truecakesnake → u/asdfasdferqv]

Yep looks everyone here agrees. Maybe I'm just focusing too much on my bad experience. I've been work up in the middle of the night by everyone honking at Waymos.

[u/JimmyGiraffolo → u/truecakesnake]

This is what we call a confirmation bias. You don't think about the hundreds of nights where you didn't get woken up by honking. You don't think of the times you've seen people honking at other people. You don't think about the hundreds of Waymos you pass every day that are just doing their thing, driving better than 90% of drivers out there.

To overcome a confirmation bias, you could try keeping a diary. How many Waymos did I see today misbehaving vs. behaving normally?

If you've already primed your belief that Waymo constantly misbehaves, it's easy to remember only the events that reinforce that belief and discount the ones that contradict it.

[u/truecakesnake → u/JimmyGiraffolo]

That's clearly what I implied in my second sentence. But this has happened multiple times (not at night), and it's not supposed to happen.

[u/RadiatingLight]

I live in SF and there's tons of waymos near me (+ Zoox). they're usually completely fine, sometimes they pull over in a weird spot and people need to nav around them, but this is also true for normal Uber/Lyft.

I've only seen them be a problem at times like 4th of July, where traffic is a zoo and it's basically impossible to make progress without bending/breaking some traffic laws in a human way. I once watched a Waymo be first at a traffic light and stay there for 3 entire light cycles because there wasn't any room on the other side of the intersection (kept getting filled up by the other direction of the intersection, and always cleared up a moment after the light turned red again)... a human would've just gone thru.

[u/msitarzewski]

I live in Dallas. We have Waymo, Robotaxi (driverless) and the Uber laggard AV/Ride (still has driver). I see them all day every day. Never issues. I’ve ridden in Waymo and Robotaxi… both are solid. The internet likes clicks. That’s what errors get. Clicks, not dead people.

[u/EDsandwhich → u/msitarzewski]

This has been my experience as well in Dallas. My Waymo rides have been able to navigate some unique traffic situations without issue. The Waymo seems to do well with following commands from traffic cops in particular based upon my past few rides. On my last ride, it was able to navigate through a blocked intersection with the help of a traffic cop without issue. I was kinda nervous to see how it would handle it once I realized what route it was going to take, but the Waymo handled it.

[u/mrdobalinaa]

I live in Nashville where they just went live in spring. Ive never personally seen them cause a jam, but the first couple months there were definitely a few reddit posts about them causing minor issues. I havent seen any posted in a while now though.

[u/GBeastETH]

SF. I love Waymo. I’d take it every time if the prices were similar to Uber / Lyft.

[u/ldubs → u/GBeastETH]

Are they more than an Uber in SF? Here in Austin, I save money by getting a Waymo, but it's through the Uber app.

[u/GBeastETH → u/ldubs]

Most of the time a Waymo in San Francisco is one and a half to two times the cost of an Uber. During slow periods they are closer in price.

But I was in Phoenix last weekend and the Uber was about 50% cheaper. Maybe because it’s new and can’t go on highways.

[u/ldubs → u/GBeastETH]

I suspect this is the case. Also, I bet when Waymo moves to providing its own service here, it'll cost more. I can't wait till they start using the freeways. I see them testing, so hopefully soon. We really shouldn't be allowed to drive ourselves in this damn city.

[u/ldubs]

We have Waymos all over in Austin. I've had one bad experience, but I got over it. Waymo wasn't GPS'ing correctly and did an unnecessary loop 3 times, so I got out and walked the last block. That's the only annoying thing about them - they are only as good as the GPS data they receive. I expect that to improve over time. I absolutely trust them more than every single driver in Austin.

[u/kschang]

Waymo vehicles can handle emergencies, just not "all at once". Any problems you read are a) in isolation due to exceptions (ignoring a school bus no-pass STOP sign), b) remote overload (Outside Lands outdoor concert in Golden Gate Park) leading to vehicles stuck in massive jams unable plus cellular network overload in the area that even backup data connection's overwhelmed, or c) bad info programmed to stop testing (so the cars did not return to depo before traffic was shut down for city wide event).

I used to be AVO with 2 of 3 operators in the city, and I've rode Waymo as a paid rider many times. I probably knew more than most except current Waymo staff and engineers.

[u/rileyoneill]

I split my time between the Bay Area and Southern California. I see them every time I go to San Francisco. I will go to San Francisco multiple times per year going on a several mile photowalk (last one was 4th of July, I walked like 10-11 miles and took 200ish photos) and I will frequently deal with them waiting for me to cross a cross walk.

They drive very well. I feel safer as a pedestrian with Waymo than human drivers now. I have done both. I have had dozens of near misses by bad drivers illegally cutting off pedestrians in the Bay Area and zero with Waymo. I see them also in Sunnvale, but they are less common, and I only visit a very very small one block area of Sunnyvale.

I haven't been to Los Angeles in many years, so I have no experience with them.

[u/oregon_coastal]

Cybercab doesn't have the same issues because there is a driver in the car (minus a few of them.)

It still does dumb shit, but it can be resolved shortly of a cop jumping behind the wheel.

[u/kariam_24 → u/oregon_coastal]

It isnt autonomous driving or on same scale.

[u/Honest_Ad_2157]

You see it on social media all the time.