With the current advancements in automotive technology, it is clear that the era of self-driving cars is approaching. Many companies such as General Motors and Alphabet are working towards perfecting their self-driving cars before potentially launching them into the market. The state of California’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) awarded both General Motors and Alphabet permits that allow them to use their self-driving vehicles for passenger service back in February 2022. Since then, General Motors’ Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo have had permission to collect fares from passengers and offer shared rides. However, it appears that the technology behind self-driving cars still needs to be tweaked as several incidents have occurred in which self-driving cars caused inconvenient traffic jams in San Francisco.
While traffic jams aren’t a new phenomenon, the efficiency behind a self-driving car should be made so that they do not add to the traffic blockage. Unfortunately, General Motors’ subsidiary Cruise has had a lot of vehicles that have become the root cause of recent traffic jams in San Francisco. Two of Cruise’s Chevrolet Bolts were seen blocking traffic near the intersection of Sacramento and Leavenworth streets. Both cars were reported to have their hazard lights on but it was unclear whether both cars were having issues or if the second car stopped because the first one was hindering its passage. In recorded footage of this blockage, a voice can be heard that states, “there’s no driver!” followed by frustrations from many of the other drivers.
Another similar incident took place at Franklin Street and Geary Boulevard. A Cruise unit entered the bus lane and ended up only inches away from a collision with the San Francisco Muni bus. Later a strange trail of liquid was discovered coming from underneath the Cruise vehicle. It still remains unknown what the liquid was or where it came from.
The third occasion of self-driving cars causing trouble was when another Crusie car blocked Sacramento street near Mason street. This was spotted by anchor Dan Thorn of KRON4 who shared the video on Twitter. In the video, the car is seen blasting music even though no one is inside. This caused a lot of commotion which wasn’t resolved until a team from the Cruise came to check out the issue at the request of Thorn who had called the assistance number displayed on the vehicle. The need for this kind of request raised many questions as to why the company was not informed about their car’s blockage and need for assistance earlier.
A Cruise spokesperson, Drew Pusateri, reported that the cars were stopping due to a technical error. He continued by stating, “if our cars encounter a situation where they aren’t able to safely proceed, they stop and turn on their hazard lights, and we either get them operating again or pick them up as quickly as possible.” Pusateri also mentioned how each traffic jam was resolved as a Cruise team came within 20 minutes to collect the vehicle. While it is a very good thing no collisions happened, it is evident that Cruise’s vehicles still need work.
These incidents show that self-driving cars still require many improvements. While it is fortunate that no accidents took place, it is still a possibility with the current stage of the technology. Additionally, the inconvenience of the traffic jams caused by these cars cannot be overlooked, especially given how the car did not have the built-in software to figure out what to do or a remote team to give it instructions. The technology of the self-driving car is still lacking in many ways but one day soon, the improvements from these incidents will actualize self-driving cars on the road for everyone to use.
Be First to Comment