Although around here fully autonomous driving still sounds a bit like Science fiction, in countries like the United States it is becoming more and more frequent. Both in the use of personal vehicles and, above all, company cars that offer their services without the need for a driver. It is precisely the latter that are making the people of San Francisco more uncomfortable lately to such an extent that many are trying to boycott them with the simple use of cones.
Autonomous cars, a very present reality in California
You already know that San Francisco is usually a pioneering city in many things and on the subject of autonomous driving it was not going to be less. There are already many users who have opted for a car capable of moving with this type of traffic and there are also numerous companies that have their own fleet to offer different types of services to its potential users.
Among them are, for example, waymo (owned by Google) and Cruisewhich they have been marketing for some time with their robotaxis, able to take people from one place to another without having to hire a taxi driver. The idea has its good and bad points (among the latter, the replacement of human intervention in favor of machines, which is surely not to the taste of the taxi driver group), but until now they had been operating in the Californian city without relative problems. Until now, sure.
many citizens have been revealed against this type of automobile, for various reasons and are calling on the rest to do the same, making use of the typical orange signaling cones. Yes, as you read: only that is enough for them to face the robotaxis.
A cone: the number one enemy of the autonomous car
A group of San Franciscans have noticed that if they use an orange signaling cone and put it on the hood, the car stops, staying “blocked”. It is the natural response of smart car systemwho thinks that he is in front of a signaling element before which he must stop according to his driving rules.
With such a revelation, those who are not in favor of the use of these cars on the streets of San Francisco are encouraging everyone to do the same on social networks, thus showing a public revulsion before this technology:
A group of San Franciscans realized that they can disable Waymo and Cruise robotaxis by placing a traffic cone on the vehicle’s hood.
They’re now encouraging others to do it: “Hell no, we do not consent to this.” pic.twitter.com/ZrYhy4OATy
— David Zipper (@DavidZipper) July 6, 2023
The reasons for these people are various, as you may have seen in the video. They allege that these cars are designed for streets designed for them, without taking pedestrians into account. In fact, a Cruise robotaxi already ran over two passersby at the end of last year and one from Waymo has even claimed the life of a dog recently.
They also indicate that no matter how much they sell us the film, these cars are nothing more than one more element of business for the enrichment of large companies and that far from contributing to reducing traffic and collisions, they can end up block ambulances and buses when they “fail”, as well as the fluid circulation of the city.
They also accuse them of having cameras synchronized with the police who continuously record everyone without their consent.
After such reasons, would you also get a cone?
