Waymo self-driving vehicles harassed on roads
CHANDLER, Ariz. – A Waymo self-driving van cruised through a local neighborhood Aug. 1 when test driver Michael Palos saw something startling as he sat behind the wheel – a bearded man in shorts aiming a handgun at him as he passed the man’s driveway.
The incident is one of at least 21 interactions documented by local police during the past two years where people have harassed the autonomous vehicles and their human test drivers.
People have thrown rocks at Waymos. The tire on one was slashed while it was stopped in traffic. The vehicles have been yelled at, chased and one Jeep was responsible for forcing the vans off roads six times.
Many of the people harassing the van drivers appear to hold a grudge against the company, a division of Mountain View, California-based Alphabet Inc., which has tested selfdriving technology in the area since 2016.
“(The suspect) stated that he was the person holding up the gun as the Waymo vehicle passed by and that his intentions were to scare the driver,” said a report from Detective Cameron Jacobs, after police arrested 69-year-old Roy Leonard Haselton on Aug. 8.
The self-driving vans use radar, lidar and cameras to navigate, so they capture footage of all interactions that usually is clear enough to identify people and read license plates.
According to police reports, Waymo test drivers rarely pursue charges and arrests are rare.
Haselton was charged with aggravated assault and disorderly conduct, and police confiscated his .22-caliber Harrington and Richardson Sportsman revolver.
“Haselton said that his wife usually keeps the gun locked up in fear that he might shoot somebody,” Jacobs wrote in the report.
“Haselton stated that he despises and hates those cars (Waymo) and said how Uber had killed someone.”
Haselton’s wife told officers he was diagnosed with dementia, according to a police report.
Palos declined to discuss the incident. The Haseltons could not be reached for comment, and Roy Haselton’s trial is scheduled for February.
Drivers trained to handle threats
Waymo test drivers usually call their company dispatcher when they are threatened or harassed, using the in-car, push-button communications system, which allows them to talk without holding a phone.
They often do this instead of calling police directly, according to the reports.
Company officials said that the drivers are trained to handle threats.
“Safety is at the core of everything we do, which means that keeping our drivers, our riders and the public safe is our top priority,” the company said in a statement.
“Over the past two years, we’ve found Arizonans to be welcoming and excited by the potential of this technology to make our roads safer.
“We believe a key element of local engagement has been our ongoing work with the communities in which we drive, including Arizona law enforcement and first responders.”
Test drivers can call police directly if they feel the threat warrants it, according to Waymo.
Police have asked Waymo to have drivers contact police immediately when drivers are threatened, allowing faster response times, but the company appears to minimize police interaction.
After an incident in September 2017 where a man threw rocks at two Waymos, the company did not contact police for four days.
Residents annoyed with Waymos
The incidents outlined in police reports show that despite the excitement by some about Arizona’s role in developing the cutting-edge technology, not all Chandler residents welcome the self-driving car tests in their city.
That was clear Aug. 19, when police were called because a 37year-old man who police described as “heavily intoxicated” was standing in front of a Waymo and not allowing the van to proceed.
“He stated he was sick and tired of the Waymo vehicles driving in his neighborhood, and apparently thought the best idea to resolve this was to stand in front of one of these vehicles,” Officer Richard Rimbach wrote in a report.
Phil Simon, an information systems lecturer at Arizona State University and author of several books on technology, said angst from residents is probably less about how the Waymo vans drive and more about people frustrated with what Waymo represents.
“This stuff is happening fast and a lot of people are concerned that technology is going to run them out of a job,” Simon said.
Simon said it is hard for middle-class people to celebrate technological breakthroughs such as self-driving cars if they have seen their own wages stagnate or even decline in recent years.
“There are always winners and losers, and these are probably people who are afraid and this is a way for them to fight back in some small, futile way,” Simon said.
“Something tells me these are not college professors or vice presidents who are doing well.”
Jeep ran vans off road six times
There may be many undocumented instances where people threatened Waymo drivers.
Police reports indicate the company doesn’t always report threats or harassment after an initial encounter, but might do so later if one person continues to cause problems.
That was the case Nov. 7, 2017, when a Waymo driver had to take manual control of his van to avoid a dark Jeep that appeared to intentionally pull into his lane and drive at him head on.
Someone driving the same Jeep had pulled a similar move on another Waymo driver the day before, and on four others in previous months.
A Waymo representative said this had been an ongoing issue with the same Jeep and other Waymo drivers, Officer Samuel Garday wrote in a report.
Waymo told police the same Jeep on April 6, 2017, passed a Waymo and then hit the brakes aggressively in front of it, and about two months later drove head on toward a van, forcing the Waymo vehicle to stop.
Police used video footage from Waymo to identify the license plate of the Jeep.