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Transportation

San Francisco Mob Lights Driverless Waymo Car on Fire (theverge.com) 141

Posted by EditorDavid from the flowers-in-your-hair dept.
Last night in San Francisco's Chinatown, "A person jumped on the hood of a Waymo driverless taxi and smashed its windshield..." reports the Verge, "generating applause before a crowd formed around the car and covered it in spray paint, breaking its windows, and ultimately set it on fire." The fire department arrived minutes later, according to a report in The Autopian, but by then flames had already fully engulfed the car.... Waymo representative Sandy Karp told The Verge via email that the fully autonomous car "was not transporting any riders" when it was attacked and fireworks were tossed inside the car, sparking the flames...

The fire takes place against the backdrop of simmering tension between San Francisco residents and automated vehicle operators... Just last week, a Waymo car struck a cyclist who had reportedly been following behind a truck turning across its path.
The "burnt-out husk of the electric Waymo Jaguar" appears in a video posted on YouTube, according to the article. "Another set of videos posted by software developer Michael Vendi gives a view into the scene as it played out and the fire grew."

San Francisco's 49ers play in the Super Bowl this afteroon, so last night's celebrations for Chinese New Year could be followed by additional celebrations tonight. Police Chief Bill Scott is already urging residents to behave responsibly. "Please don't light anything on fire."
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San Francisco Mob Lights Driverless Waymo Car on Fire More

San Francisco Mob Lights Driverless Waymo Car on Fire

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  • Inc the usual suspects saying how this is necessary

    • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Like being black in Oklahoma, I suppose. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

      • Re: (Score:1, Interesting)

        by JBeretta ( 7487512 )
        Something that happened over a century ago is relevant how?

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by DarkVader ( 121278 )

          Because systemic racism never ended.

          There are plenty of people who look at those events and want them to happen again. Many of those people are elected officials and police.

          • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

            by blahabl ( 7651114 )

            Because systemic racism never ended.

            There are plenty of people who look at those events and want them to happen again. Many of those people are elected officials and police.

            Yeah, and you're one one them. Because if I wanted to social engineer normal people into lynch mobs, defunding the police, or outright announcing that black criminals are not going to be prosecuted is exactly the best way to make normal people desperate enough to take matters into their own hands.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by quonset ( 4839537 )

      And when people set cars on fire [thestar.com], or buses, or trash dumpsters, or people [hockeyfeed.com], and loot stores [www.cbc.ca] after a hockey game, you'll say the same thing, right?

      • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

        by ArmoredDragon ( 3450605 )

        Excuse me sir, but they prefer the term "reparations".

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward

          Not even trying to hide the pointy hat and bed sheets.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by drnb ( 2434720 )

            Not even trying to hide the pointy hat and bed sheets.

            I see you are NOT very familiar with the folks describing looting as reparations. They ain't the clan types. You do realize that both sides have their respective nut cases?

          • Wait... Are you saying Ariel Atkins is a member of the KKK? Shit, that actually explains a lot.

            https://www.newsweek.com/black... [newsweek.com]

            Though that's the first I heard of a self-described "trained Marxist" is also part of the KKK.

    • This seems like a story to put MAGA loonies in a twist. On one hand this is more proof of out of control librals But to the contrary, they are glad that a driver and electric car was torched. Uncertain whether to condemn or praise they start spontaneously combusting themselves.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gosso920 ( 6330142 )
      It was a "mostly peaceful" protest...
  • This is proof that driverless cars are accepted as the same as normal cars. The robocar preforms slightly better here, as no driver is burned in the vehicle, nor gets shot before the stereo is pulled.

  • Itâ(TM)s started (Score:3, Funny)

    by lowfence ( 1611187 ) on Sunday February 11, 2024 @07:25PM (#64232830)
    First steps of the Buthlerian Jihad

  • A few hundred years from now... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Sunday February 11, 2024 @07:30PM (#64232838)

    A few hundred years from now these sorts of events will be reported in history books the same way we hear about resistance to the Industrial Revolution. People then will wonder why we were so backwards and resistant to change, without regard for the fact that we’re in times of transition when the technology hasn’t been worked out yet. Even so, this is the start of another chapter in someone’s history book.

    • Re:A few hundred years from now... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ArmoredDragon ( 3450605 ) on Sunday February 11, 2024 @08:01PM (#64232896)

      I don't think that has anything to do with it. This looks like a trend that has been developing in France for a few decades now, and it's becoming popular in San Francisco apparently.

      https://www.huffpost.com/entry... [huffpost.com]

    • Or maybe it's just a smart way to get free advertising (cost of one car for articles in every major news site) and brand recognition.

    • Re:A few hundred years from now... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by niftydude ( 1745144 ) on Sunday February 11, 2024 @08:59PM (#64233000)
      I hope that a few hundred years from now, self-driving cars might have the good sense not to try to force their way through a street festival packed with people attempting to celebrate Lunar New Year.

      Those people didn't ask to be beta testers at all, let alone on their most significant cultural holiday.

      • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

        by war4peace ( 1628283 )

        This doesn't excuse their primitive behavior.

        • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

          by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

          This doesn't excuse their primitive behavior.

          Yes, that's right, nothing excuses Waymo's primitive behavior of treating everyone else like a slave and/or subclass by using us all as beta testers without our consent.

          • I see there is quite the crowd condoning brutal, tribal, uncivilized behavior.
            Well... we have the world we deserve, as a species.

            • I see there is quite the crowd condoning brutal, tribal, uncivilized behavior.

              Yes, quite a few are lining up to lick Waymo's boots in the hope that the owning class will see their loyalty and reward it. But they never will, to them you are never going to be better than a tool to be used and discarded.

              • What in the world are you rambling about?
                You don't like something? Fine. Use all LEGAL means at your disposal to fight it. No problem.
                But is it okay for me to lit your home on fire because I don't like it for some reason?

                • I see there is quite the crowd condoning brutal, tribal, uncivilized behavior.

                  Yes, quite a few are lining up to lick Waymo's boots in the hope that the owning class will see their loyalty and reward it. But they never will, to them you are never going to be better than a tool to be used and discarded.

                  What in the world are you rambling about? You don't like something? Fine. Use all LEGAL means at your disposal to fight it. No problem. But is it okay for me to lit your home on fire because I don't like it for some reason?

                  I think it's time to Godwin this discussion by pointing out that in Nazi Germany it was ILLEGAL to not report suspect Jews to the police, while it was LEGAL to ship them off to concentration camps. Note that I'm not equating Waymo with Nazis - I'm just making it abundantly clear that the legality or illegality of an action is often at odds with the morality of said action.

                  AFAICT drinkypoo was quite correct when he observed that Waymo is using people "as beta testers without (their) consent". The law has all

                  • Um...
                    Are you really equating a horrible dictatorship (Nazi Germany) with a flawed democracy (USA)?
                    You said you don't equate Waymo with Nazis, but you do equate the political background to justify the action. It makes no sense anyway.
                    While history has plenty of examples where moral actions where not legal and vice versa, this care is not applicable. You want to protest Waymo? Gather 10 friends, go to a pedestrian crossing, wait for a Waymo car, then, after it stops while you cross, have your friends walk aro

          • This doesn't excuse their primitive behavior.

            Yes, that's right, nothing excuses Waymo's primitive behavior of treating everyone else like a slave and/or subclass by using us all as beta testers without our consent.

            Whenever I visit the big city, Phoenix, I encounter occasional Waymos ferrying people around on the city streets and freeways. They are just part of the scene. What makes them so hated in San Francisco?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Holi ( 250190 )

          Wow, teenagers in a group do vandalism. Let me guess, your using the word primitive because you want to call attention to skin tone?

          Sure glad that has not been a common occurrence in America for like most of it's history.

          • Uh, dude, I don't live in the USA, stop making everything racist.
            I don't give a rat's ass about skin tone. I do, however, care about behavior. And that behavior is primitive.

      • Re:A few hundred years from now... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Monday February 12, 2024 @03:42AM (#64233562)

        I hope that a few hundred years from now, self-driving cars might have the good sense not to try to force their way through a street festival packed with people attempting to celebrate Lunar New Year.

        The street was not closed to traffic. There were plenty of normal cars also going through. TFA even says that cars back up and every so often the crowd makes way for them.

        You're fuelling the anti-self driving horseshit with your point of view. Don't do that. If you want to run a festival on the street on purpose, close the street, otherwise expect cars to slowly creep their way through.

        • The street was not closed to traffic. There were plenty of normal cars also going through. TFA even says that cars back up and every so often the crowd makes way for them.

          You're fuelling the anti-self driving horseshit with your point of view. Don't do that. If you want to run a festival on the street on purpose, close the street, otherwise expect cars to slowly creep their way through.

          ... uh huh.

          Quick experiment. "Creep through" an impromptu street festival and hit someone with your car. Then jump out and get into an argument with the people who tell you that you should have just gone down another road. Lecture them on why should have expected to get run over because they weren't supposed to be there.

          After you're done, let us know whether the "anti-self driving horse-shit" is about the technology, or the people advocating the technology.

          • Quick experiment. "Creep through" an impromptu street festival and hit someone with your car.

            Done it. Plenty of times. Most recently 2 days ago, it was after all carnival weekend.

            Then jump out and get into an argument with the people who tell you that you should have just gone down another road.

            No need. Because I shouldn't have had to nor need to, the street wasn't closed and no self entitled arsehole thought they owned the place. Not even the drunk ones.

            After you're done, let us know whether the "anti-self driving horse-shit" is about the technology, or the people advocating the technology.

            Clearly it was. My car is not on fire nor does it have any broken windows. Just like the *checks article* apparently many cars that came before the driverless car went through the same street in San Francisco.

            • Sorry - you hit someone with your car two days ago in San Francisco? You've run people over in crowds multiple times?

              I don't buy it. You think the variable is whether the car is self driving. I think the variable is whether the car actually hit someone, and I also think you're smart enough to realize that if you actually conducted my thought experiment, you'd be lucky to survive long enough to be put on trial.

    • Re:A few hundred years from now... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Errol backfiring ( 1280012 ) on Monday February 12, 2024 @04:35AM (#64233618) Journal
      Maybe not. Last year, "Blood in the Machine" [hachette.co.uk] by Brian Merchant was published. The author wrote the book because there are a lot of parallels between worker's right suppression in the Industrial Revolution and the suppression of worker's rights in the "Gig economy".
    • It would be nice to think that, but I doubt it.

  • How many arrests? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by timeOday ( 582209 ) on Sunday February 11, 2024 @07:32PM (#64232844)
    Article does not say.

  • Not necessarily resistance to progress (Score:5, Insightful)

    by test321 ( 8891681 ) on Sunday February 11, 2024 @07:57PM (#64232890)

    TFA says we don't know the motive. We speculate it's anti-tech people, but it could be regular vandals who would don't care about the tech and see a car without a human to defend it.

    • Check out the links to the Video. It's just a bunch of degenerates doing it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Holi ( 250190 )

        I mean, yeah, teenagers are mostly degenerates until they grow out of it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Holi ( 250190 )

      Mostly teenagers so probably regular teenagers in a group acting like hooligans. Kinda common actually.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )
      Two guys had skateboards wearing a hat and hoodies to hide their faces. So genZ douchebags who live on tiktok. Not anti-tech. Just anti anything that doesnt give them government subsidy of weed and fentanyl. Just catch up with them and give them free fentanyl and make sure nobosy narcan’s their ass. Problem solved. It is SF after all.

  • Clarification Needed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kid_wonder ( 21480 ) <[slashdot] [at] [kscottklein.com]> on Sunday February 11, 2024 @09:50PM (#64233066) Homepage

    In the previous accident mentioned in the article, it could well be argued that the cyclist struck the car.

    From Reuters [reuters.com]:

    Waymo said its vehicle was at a complete stop at a four-way intersection when a large truck crossed the intersection in its direction. At its turn to proceed, the Waymo car moved forward.
    However, the cyclist, who was obscured by the truck which the cyclist was following, took a left turn into the Waymo vehicle's path. When the cyclist was fully visible, the Waymo's vehicle braked heavily, but wasn't able to avoid the collision, the company said.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      That's the issue. In SF, cyclists have the right of way no matter what. All traffic signals for anyone on a bicycle are optional, be it stop signs, one-way streets, or anything. If your vehicle is stopped and a cyclist rear ends you, the cyclist can take legal action, because you shouldn't have been in their way in the first place.

  • Jaguar spontaneous external combustion story. Old as the marque itself.

  • Bunch of Amateurs (Score:5, Funny)

    by peterww ( 6558522 ) on Sunday February 11, 2024 @10:51PM (#64233152)

    Just one car?

    When the Eagles play in the superbowl, doesn't matter if they win or lose, the whole city gets set on fire.

  • This brought the Arnie classic 'Total Recall' to mind!
  • These people should just be shot, they have bo place in our society. Stop vandalizing other people's property.
  • ⦠think of the robots?

  • Time to just seal the place off (Score:4, Funny)

    by Applehu Akbar ( 2968043 ) on Monday February 12, 2024 @09:14AM (#64233978)

    At some point we will have to declare San Francisco to be an exclusion zone, a social Chernobyl, that is better walled off and just quietly forgotten about.

  • SF is no place to test a driverless car.

    • SF is an excellent place to test driverless cars, just not good for the residents of SF.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Holi ( 250190 )

        Ah yes that age old story of democracy, people hate new thing, company who makes new thing gives money to government, thing that people hate is now all over town.

        Democracy in action.

  • I observe that in one of the videos, a skateboarder is trying to smash in a window with his skateboard. I'm sure there are plenty of skateboarders, bicyclists, scooter riders, and even pedestrians who have had run-ins with these cars. Maybe some ill will might be there, just guessing.

  • We don't know who struck first, us or them. But we do know it was us that scorched the sky...

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