These coners are exploiting a simple hack that would ordinarily be nothing but a minor nuisance to a human driver, but it turns into a showstopper for an SDC, because there is no responsible human for dozens of miles around. It disables the car for an inordinate period of time without a realistic mitigation. It's genius!
SDCs are rolling into active shooter zones, they're blocking police, fire, and hydrants, they're actively stalking pedestrians.
This is not some random prankery or vandalism, this coning is a non-violent statement in defense of human dignity and rule of law.
Blocking the sensors of a self-driving car is a hell of a gamble to take on the public’s safety. They shouldn’t be arrested, but they should be cited same as any petty vandal. They won’t, at least for the time being, because this is San Francisco.
But what if someone was pretending to be a public worker doing sidewalk maintenance and that forced you to simply walk on the other side of the road and not being able to access the fast food?
That to me is more like an annoyance and a form of protest.
In case you are serious, there is a difference between acting to harm (human, animal, building, company). Not acting to prevent harm, not acting to provide gain.
Stealing a burger, Reporting a burger being stolen, rolling your sleeves jumping behind the grill to help out
I’m sure a philosophy major can add to the list with a clearer argument