“Step One: Find a cone. Step Two: Gently place it on the hood of the car. Well done, you’ve just created a unicorn and a traffic break.” This is a rather special tutorial that emerged on TikTok: a guide to stopping autonomous vehicles in the city of San Francisco, in the United States.
The “Safe Street Rebel” account, a group of anti-car activists, has decided to attack the self-driving cars offered by the companies Cruise and Waymo. According to the group, these cars would be the cause of the traffic jams, altering the circulation of buses and emergency vehicles, among other things. Safe Street Rebel also mourns the death of one person and one dog from these vehicles.
“Dangerous and disrespectful behavior”
To “remedy” these problems, the group has decided to develop a technique considered unstoppable, which makes it possible to prevent the operation of autonomous vehicles. By placing a construction cone on the hood of the car, it seems to stop immediately.
A process described as “vandalism” by the different companies involved. “This understanding of how autonomous vehicles work is not just incorrect, it is vandalism and encourages dangerous and disrespectful behavior on our roads,” said Katherine Barma, a spokeswoman for Waymo.
Expand vehicle activity
The cruise company, for its part, boasts of its impeccable route: “3 million kilometers without a driver without a single death or life-threatening injury.” But it is true that these construction cones could impact the operation of these vehicles.
In 2021, a Waymo vehicle had suffered numerous mid-trip breakdowns due to cones placed on the roadway, CNN reported. The passenger even had to resort to the platform’s help service, which claimed incorrect guidance.
These vehicles were installed several years ago in several cities in the United States and should see their work area expanded shortly. This is also regretted by the Safe Street Rebel collective, which invites its supporters to attend a meeting of the California Public Service Commission on July 13. This meeting should precede a vote on a possible expansion of autonomous vehicle activity zones, particularly in the heart of San Francisco.
Source: BFM TV
