California halts rollout of driverless cars after accidents

CALIFORNIA has blocked a Googlebacked driverless car company from expanding after a series of accidents.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has suspended a request by Waymo, owned by Google’s parent company, to launch its robotaxi business in more cities within the state.

Vehicles from Waymo and Cruise, a rival, have been operating in San Francisco for years. Waymo had been seeking permission to expand to Los Angeles and the wider San Francisco peninsula.

However, David Canepa, a local politician in San Mateo county, said its application had been paused because of what he claimed was Waymo’s failure to engage in “meaningful” discussion about “public safety concerns”.

It follows public opposition to driverless cars after a series of accidents.

The cars have also been blamed by locals for causing traffic jams with apparently erratic driving and braking.

Protesters have taken to placing traffic cones on the bonnets of the vehicles to confuse their self-driving sensors. In one case, a Waymo taxi was set on fire in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Mr Canepa told Techcrunch: “Since Waymo has stalled any meaningful discussions on its expansion plans into Silicon Valley, the CPUC has put the brakes on its application to test a robotaxi service virtually unfettered in both San Mateo and Los Angeles counties.

“This will provide the opportunity to fully engage the vehicle maker on our very real public safety concerns [over] all kinds of dangerous situations.”

Waymo’s request will now be subject to a fresh review and any expansion put on hold until at least June.

Waymo said the decision was “procedural” and part of the regulator’s “robust review process”.