Waymo invented a new kind of distracted driving: "You're out and about in a company vehicle, troubleshooting robot cars, monitoring their every move Key Responsibilties: ...operates a non-autonomous vehicle while monitoring the location of a self-driving autonomous vehicle(s)" And outsourced it.

A Waymo robot failed amid cyclists and remained failed/stuck/MRC: Seaside Terrace at Ocean Ave (Santa Monica Pier), Santa Monica, California Fragility as an automated mobile service. OP: x.WCoast_

Another stuck Waymo robot: Grant at California, Chinatown, SF The robot's door handles are out & no initials on the top lidar, indicating prob an unclosed door from a dropped off in this No Stopping Anytime zone. Anyone could put anything in it, close the door, and it would cluelessly drive away.

More researchers wasting time reinventing 'see around corner' tech already normal in competent RF, radar, cell, wifi, bluetooth etc implementations and so common it's how many if not most urban cell connections work. It's less reliable for moving connection/detection. www.popsci.com/technology/d...

self-trapping tech at its finest Waymo, once again: - stumped by a street closure - disobeyed traffic controls - entered intersection unable to clear, CVC § 22526 reliably unreliable Waymo robot drove to a stop/fail/MCR past right turn & left turn non-fwy lanes: maps.app.goo.gl/GhoXKgmxtnL6...

Serve (not Coco) robots being dropped off to lose >85 cents on the dollar, on Sunset Blvd, LA OP: tiktok.drp_world

They also serve who only stand and wait on a bus for a Waymo robot to move. Not only in San Francisco. LA, Phoenix, Atlanta, Austin, Miami, and many new cities in which Waymo plans to impede transit this year. "the bus driver kept honking at it just for nothing to happen" OP: tiktok.emmabythebay

From the TaskUs "Human Touch in a Driverless World: The Critical Role of Operators in AV Emergencies" case study: "Remote vehicle control: Operators worked alongside fleet specialists to monitor vehicles, move cars to safer locations and reroute other AVs in the area to prevent further incidents"

TaskUs is almost certainly a Waymo US & prob Philippines ops contractor, # refers to pics: 1) only Waymo matches co described 2) hiring telops in Chandler & field ops in new Waymo cities 3) telops job uses Waymo's terms 4) temp sw ops quality contractor at Waymo US HQ links to sources in thread

"bc you are kinda pulled over somewhat in the lane, I am going to attempt to move your vehicle to a safe location" Waymo telop The telop performed the very definition of the fallback DRIVER role, per SAE J3016, and indicative of Level 3 automation w a very long handoff time. OP: tiktok.geicolizxrd

A Waymo robot illegally stopped in road in front of SFFD fire engine E21 displaying emergency lights: 300 block of Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco Looks similar to two recent videos of Waymo robots illegally stopping in traffic for school buses w flashing yellow lights. OP: reddit.misterfuss

Yet another (82+) Wrong Way Waymo: W 35th St at Exposition Blvd, Austin, TX Waymo robots have a bad/illegal tendency to cross double yellow lines to get around queues of cars. I've posted many similar videos, inc ~4 from one intersection in downtown San Francisco. OP: tiktok.luxi.editing

Yet another (81+) Wrong Way Waymo: "turned into an active construction zone...then...into oncoming traffic...pressed rider support...When [non-US telops] couldn’t assist...transferred...to [US telops]... took more than five minutes to reach someone" OP: tiktok.tylerlcrawford He bailed. In Austin.

One of the best explanations of the legal conundrums of the AV driver. State laws reference SAE J3016 for terminology, but it has problems, esp wrt human v robot roles. Kinda like they loosened just enough threads in a tangle for ppl to get a false sense of order/reason, but the tangle remains.

Waymo's next (6th) generation robot that is supposed to "allow [Waymo] to safely broaden our footprint into more diverse environments, including those with extreme winter weather" awkwardly stuck in a Philly snowbank being a road hazard. There's always the next next generation, Alphabet willing.

Many ppl do not know that it is legal to remotely drive an ADS/robot in California w the appropriate DMV AV permit, inc apparently @erratarob.bsky.social. It has always been allowed by default under CA DMV AV Driverless permits. DMV's proposed new AV regulations elaborate/explain it in more detail.

Waymo's new 6th generation "Driver" hard at work or hardly working: Hotel Cir Ct, San Diego Appears uncrewed/driverless. If Waymo submits a crash report it should confirm who/what was driving. Waymo robots have a long, varied, and recent history of curb crashes. OP: tiktok.tisoycurryativecuisines

If anyone tries this, I'd appreciate confirmation both that it functionally works as it should and that it net pays as it shouldn't.

Reminded of Peter Steiner's New Yorker cartoon, from the more innocent/naive 1993.

As @aarianmarshall.bsky.social rightly points out, Waymo is following the 'overwhelm the regulators' path of Uber and Bird, at least in DC. Waymo already has more commercial ridehail permits across at least 6 states than they have the robots to fulfill now or plan to have a year from now.

Waymo is as "fully autonomous" as their end to end gig workers can make them.

AV execs "superhuman" when they've nothing useful to say. IDK the 2 driver truck haul market size, but Aurora already touting their unproven ability to do/sustain this may mean their costs are too high. Cost Aurora $17 million to generate $3 million in trucking revenue in 2025. archive.ph/3ir0e

Waymo announced they are finally going to remove safety drivers from their 6th gen Zeekr "Ojai" robot, though only for testing. I believe these robots have the same blind spot defect as the 5th gen Jaguars that has contributed to multiple crashes, inc killing KitKat. waymo.com/blog/2026/02...

Another Waymo robot w a passenger drove into an active police/SWAT scene where 2 officers had been shot: Lindbergh Dr and Cheshire Bridge Rd, Atlanta Waymo robots have violating police scenes ever since they removed safety drivers and everywhere they operate without them. OP: tiktok.11alivenews

Waymo's California ridehail growth slowed from October to November before declining in December. The December decline was equivalent to a ~2 day outage in San Francisco, ie prob about what happened Dec 20 + the days after. Waymo's AZ growth flattened ~mid-2025. Nearly all growth is from new geos.

A Tesla robot w passenger in Austin disobeyed traffic controls (flagger) to drive into a road repavement. PAX called telops. In next ~3 minutes, the robot went backwards, forwards, backwards, then finally forwards through the construction assisted by the road crew. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lHP...

Fair @thefrisc.bsky.social overview of AV/ADS crash reporting in California. AFAICT, its only mistake is the new CA AV law won't "make ticketing [uncrewed robots for moving violations] easier." It lets PD send a noncompliance note to DMV. No citation, fine, or points. thefrisc.com/waymo-doesnt...

MA Governor employs a VC who profited from the two most reckless US AV companies, aside from Tesla, and is "bullish" on the tech. Misspelled "bullshit" IMO. Uber's AV killed a pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg. NTSB investigation uncovered a horrific safety culture. Cruise criminally mislead regulators.

SFMuni bus #22 PAX deboarded ~block from the next bus stop as a Zoox undrivable robot w PAX struggled to pass a double parked car: 16th & Valencia, San Francisco A half block from where KitKat was killed & a block from where a Zoox recently drove into an open car door. OP: ig.kyleandersoncomedy

SFFD tending to a tree fallen on a parked SUV and a Waymo robot: 100 block of Sanchez, San Francisco San Francisco Fire Station 6 is on that block, by Market St. There was a wind gust warning today. Waymo robots often get befuddled by downed trees, but not often on them. OP: tiktok.pablotavera83

ICYMI, this is a very rare video of different ADS directly interacting. I've personally seen Waymo robots interact w GM Cruise and Zoox robots, but don't recall videos of one affecting the other in any unusual or interesting way. The Tesla had time & space to change lanes had it acted ~sec sooner.

"I'm putting it into manual controls right now" Waymo telop, who then remotely drove a robot w passenger in Los Angeles. Apparently, the telop "assisted" the robot to move a little, then manually tookover for a tricky left maneuver. Video in 2 parts bc of bsky 3 min limit. OP: tiktok.gstacks_sama

This @skirsner.bsky.social article is the best I've seen on the Massachusetts politics of getting a new AV law fitted to Waymo's very rigid needs. It doesn't go into the craziness of telops and robots stopping in traffic for no good/apparent reason, but it does have a couple illuminating quotes.

Great example of 2 ADS disagreeing on safety. A Waymo (too) slowly/aggressively turned ~maximizing crash odds, causing/inducing a Tesla to swerve. There are too many videos & complaints of Waymo robots scaring a passenger or other driver by driving so closely/precisely to post. OP: x.Tslachan

Waymo in Philly: same problems more evenly distributed Welcome to fully Philippines assisted "autonomy"

Good thread on today's Portland AV hearing. Oregon's proposed AV law (HB 4085) reads like written by Waymo & Zoox: - preempt local gov regulation - enshrine SAE J3016 in law: levels, ODD, DDT, MRC - minimal reporting, performance, testing - legalize undrivable robots - unlimited/unaddressed telops

"stop, authorities are on the way" Waymo robot, Scottsdale, AZ Waymo robots can automatically play a small set of brief recorded messages and telops have an additional set they can make the robot play. First time I've heard this robotic appeal to fear of authority message. OP: tiktok.andrewcamberg

Waymo's dropoff spots for the Super Bowl are a mile walk from Levi's Stadium in the parking lot of a Google office building. Heckuva geofence (green area in pic1) around the stadium. Walking the last mile to/from your robot is the new multimodal.

Story of a romance novel AI prompter who makes it up in volume. She "authors" under several pseudonyms. Raising the question of whether her audience will have to resort to AI summaries to keep up with her. Ashes to ashes Prompt to prompt

A Waymo robot reportedly rearended at: Motel 6, Great Highway, San Francisco It is illegal to stop anywhere on that side of that block. The pole where this appears to have happened has a No Stopping Anytime sign. Waymo's never disclosed an illegal stop in a crash report. OP: reddit.SupergurlKara

I've seen better attended pug meetups in Alta Plaza Park.

Some funny riffs on the Waymo telops disclosure in this thread. This one hits home as it is kinda what happened ~hundred-fold during the PG&E outage in San Francisco. The unseen gig worker behind the robo-curtain is having a cultural moment. I bet they have stories and in several languages.

Not to pick on David, who is mostly excellent, but “confusion” is used by AV cos to mask critical failures & general incompetence. A “driver” is a hard realtime system, ie failure to act in realtime can be catastrophic. “Confused” Waymo/Cruise/Zoox/etc robots are almost all hard realtime failures.

California DMV is responsible for ensuring ADS/AV remote operations are safe and should have the most experience with them. Their proposed new regulations strongly imply remote operators (drivers & assistants) can make a robot stop, as that is required for an MRC. www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/about...

Per an anonymous Waymo spokesperson, their telops need driver's licenses to never drive. Meanwhile, Prof Koopman says what I've been saying for ~8 years: when Waymo robots fail as drivers, Waymo falls back to telops to perform driving tasks. It is one system, not two. decrypt.co/357128/waymo...

Another stuck "confused" Waymo robot: Santa Monica Pier Bridge Right is do not enter. Left is a pay parking lot, other side of which is the only exit. The robot shouldn't be here. Routing failure compounded by inability to adapt. More work for telops and/or field rescue. OP: tiktok.sina111

In December there was a major blackout in San Francisco caused by a fire at a PG&E substation, while autonomous vehicles stalled traffic and disrupted emergency vehicle response. This month we will begin a series of hearings to investigate what happened, and hold these companies accountable.

Bland AI is a Y Combinator backed San Francisco startup. Imagine "actually" burning your early money on creepy robots in romance novels ads. This ad is in NYC.

Video of a stuck Waymo robot that looks like it ends just after telops goosed it however it needed: S 7th St approaching Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ Smash the go button is the new clap louder. Chase Field on the right and a bikelane needing protection next to the robot. OP: tiktok.insurancewithrusty

"this god damn waymo has been in front of me for the past 10 minutes...it won't move...so many opportunities to f*ing turn left" OP: tiktok.l0veisunity Nueces St at 24th, Austin, TX Nueces is one-way, so she couldn't turn around, >400' to backup, & maybe no one let her into right lane to go right.