an autonomous Waymo taxi from the Alphabet group vandalized and set on fire in the middle of the street in San Francisco

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The assisted driving system is accused of being involved in several road accidents and deaths in the United States in recent years.

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A Waymo autonomous taxi from the Alphabet group in the streets of San Francisco in the United States, November 17, 2023. (JASON HENRY / AFP)

Vehicles that are not unanimous. A Waymo autonomous taxi from the Alphabet group, the parent company of Google, was vandalized and completely set on fire by several people on Saturday February 11 in San Francisco, California. No one was injured in the fire and there were no passengers in the vehicle.

Images published on social networks show the white Jaguar, before the fire, stopped on the public highway, in a crowded street in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where New Year’s celebrations were taking place. In the crowd, several people dressed black people break the windows, one using his skateboard.

Other videos then show the car tagged, windows broken, fireworks exploding inside, then on fire with an impressive plume of smoke emanating from it. Once the fire is extinguished, the autonomous taxi appears largely destroyed.

Several accidents linked to autonomous cars

San Francisco is the laboratory of autonomous vehicles. But their development is slower than expected by manufacturers. The autonomous vehicle company Cruise, a subsidiary of the American giant General Motors, interrupted its activities indefinitely at the end of October after several accidents and the suspension of its authorizations in California. It operated autonomous electric taxis in several American cities.

Tesla’s “Autopilot” assisted driving system (Level 2) has also been accused of giving drivers the false impression that the car is driving itself, thereby increasing the risk of accidents.

After analyzing the data from the American Highway Safety Agency, the American daily Washington Post claimed in June that this “Autopilot” mode had been involved in 736 accidents and 17 deaths in the United States since 2019.


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