> There is zero way in hell I'd ever trust some Waymo car to make some insane left turn across 6 lanes of rush hour traffic out here, let alone the freeway.

This quote highlights why I would trust it more. I have been an Uber that essentially tried to make that turn, and it was insane. I'm hoping Waymo would be smart enough to try alternate routes (that said, I've had Google Maps route me in West Hollywood going across major boulevards without a light during rush hour, which is basically impossible).

> I have been an Uber that essentially tried to make that turn, and it was insane

This announcement makes me more willing to travel to LA for work.

I've taken Waymo in LA and Santa Monica and honestly it's fine. Some drivers freak out because it actually stops at stop signs and it doesn't speed, but it feels much safer than 90% of Ubers I've taken.

The cars also has much better depth perception than I do, which makes it pretty good at those unprotected left turns

I see it as a trial by fire. If Waymo can handle LA, it can handle anywhere (that doesn't have awful weather).

Fire indeed. Good luck to everyone else, but I won't be in that kitchen.

One step at a time. Computers are already better than humans in terms of braking with ABS brakes. Driving in awful weather conditions is just a matter of sensors - as a human I can't see in the dark, but IR sensors can. Same for snow. Something with radar on different frequencies than visible light can see through snow and do better than humans can.

SF traffic seems harder to handle than LA traffic.

As someone who doesn’t live in LA: I can’t imagine what your freeways are like given your characterisation of an ordinary road. Our “freeways” max out at 4-5 lanes each way. From what I can tell, getting from A to B is a stressful full time job for the people of your good city.