A Waymo driverless taxi which is owned by Google has been pulled over in the USA, Phoenix Arizona to be precise, but then the police officer could not work out how to give it a ticket.
If you live in Phoenix, you may have become used to seeing driverless taxis operating there. Waymo run a fleet of self-driving taxis that are approved to operate in full autonomous mode, is without a driver.
They are not yet fully au-fait with the city streets though and there have been a number if problems with the technology leading to the occasional mishap. One such mishap is making its rounds on the interweb after a City Policeman pulled over the cab seemingly unaware of how it works.
From the Body-Cam footage obtained from the local Police Department and seen on YouTube, the car drove the wrong way through a construction zone and then drove on the wrong side of the road causing havoc with other motorists on the road.
When the Police Officer tuned his lights on, the Waymo Driverless Taxi ‘Freaked-Out’ and jumped the next red light before pulling into a parking lot.
Then the car automatically lowers its windows and connects the Officer with the Rider-Support. The officer is then seen somewhat comically talking to an empty car explaining why he had pulled it over.
The operator on the other end then tells the officer that he will review the tapes. At this point the footage stops and we are left to guess what happens next. However, what we do know is that the policeman could not write a ticket as he needs the drivers details to do so, and of course there isn’t one.
According to various reports carried on the interweb the company blamed poor signage in the construction zone and was ‘blocked’ from resuming driving in the correct lane and run the red light to avoid causing an obstruction at the traffic junction.
The Police for their part, said it was impossible to issue a ticket to a computer even though there are supposed to be processes in place to do so.
All of which may well be true, so the next time I get pulled over I will tell the officer that I will review the tapes and thereafter blame poor signage for my errors.
I am sure that at some point in my future I will have to brave the interior of a driverless taxi. I am sure that they will eventually be a godsend to the great-unwashed public, but until the time when I have no choice, I still want a human to be gripping the wheel.
Watch the footage and fuller report from FOX 10 News Phoenix
