Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing traffic jams

Re:Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing tr... by godelski on Monday December 22, 2025 @01:57AM (#46351957)

I wouldn't say "super easy" but if an autonomous vehicle isn't programmed to handle:

  1: streetlight with no lights
  2: streetlight with blinking red
    2.5: streetlight with blinking yellow

Then they are 100% not qualified to be on the road. Those are basic situations and incredibly easy to replicate, simulate, and incorporate into the training data.

That is to say, they are not edge cases.

Dealing with other drivers in those settings is much harder to do but that's a different problem and you should be simulating your car in a wide variety of other driver dynamics. From everyone being very nice to everyone being hyper aggressive and the full spectrum in between.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Waymo halts service during S.F. blackout after causing tr... by scoofy on Monday December 22, 2025 @04:37AM (#46352604)

If you are just arguing that they're not qualified to be on the road, then I agree with you. I've been an autonomous vehicle skeptic for a long time, mainly because in think our automobile transportation system is inherently dangerous. It's going to be a tough sell though, considering that they are already -- generally -- better drivers than a nontrivial number of human beings.

It's a tough question. The entire reason I'm defending this shortcoming is exactly that I prefer the fail-safe shutdown to any attempt to navigate bizarre, barely conforming to traffic code, blacked out intersections that are inherently dangerous.

[ Parent | on HN ]