Driverless cars ‘struggling to cope in traffic’
Frustration at Waymo’s autonomous vehicle tests casts doubt on removal of safety drivers by 2020
SELF-DRIVING cars designed by Waymo – a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet – have problems understanding the rules of the road, according to a new report.
The Chrysler Pacifica minivans are being tested in the suburban town of Chandler in Arizona by safety drivers. However, locals have become increasingly frustrated by their presence, website The Information claims. The cars reportedly have difficulty turning left on fast-moving roads and stop at traffic signs for longer than necessary.
Locals also allege the vehicles brake suddenly, and have trouble merging into heavy traffic. They say the cars struggle with “basic” road features such as metered red and green lights that regulate the speed of cars.
The vehicles’ safety drivers, who can take over manually in difficult situations, “regularly have to take control of the wheel to avoid a collision or potentially unsafe situation”.
A spokesman said yesterday that the on-road trials were gathering feedback and the vehicles were continually learning.
“Waymo was founded on a mission to make our roads safer, and that’s why we built a cautious and defensive driver. The way to responsibly deploy our fully driverless technology is to robustly test and validate in a geo-fenced territory that grows over time. Anything less than that undermines safety and the promise of this technology,” he added.
News of the difficulties faced by Waymo comes just weeks after Uber restarted its own self-driving car programme in Arizona, having suspended it following a fatal crash in March.
At the time, Waymo chief executive John Krafcik told an audience in Las Vegas that “in situations like that one with pedestrians – in this case a pedestrian with a bicycle – we have a lot of confidence that our technology would be robust and would be able to handle situations like that”.
Waymo is widely thought to be the furthest along in its development of driverless cars, and data released by California’s transport regulator earlier this year show its safety drivers had to take control of the cars about 63 times over the 352,545 miles travelled, or 5,596 miles per intervention.
Uber’s safety drivers had to take control every 13 miles, according to documents seen by The New York Times. Many vehicle manufacturers are hoping to remove safety drivers, with analysts estimating there will be fully autonomous cars on the streets within three to four years. Waymo is looking to have its cars on the roads without safety drivers by 2020, in situations where there is favourable weather and the routes are well mapped.
Despite reports of teething issues with the vehicles, Morgan Stanley believes Wall Street is underestimating the value of the Waymo business, prompting the bank to hike its stock price target on its parent Alphabet from $1,325 to $1,515.