The Beastie Boys already sang it at the time: listen everyone, this is sabotage. And in the offices of the Waymo or Cruise robotaxis it seems that this theme of 94 is what is most heard because a group of angry citizens of San Francisco have risen “in cones” against the autonomous cars of these companies. Party is coming
San Francisco It is the city of the Golden Gate, of the mythical chase scene of “The Rock” on the famous Lombard Street and now, in 2023, of autonomous cars and robotaxis. To put you in context, the Californian city is the testing circuit for several technology start-ups from Palo Alto that have decided to bring a legion of autonomous cars to “see how they are” circulating.
This on the one hand, on the other hand we have the good people of «Safe Street Rebel» a group of local citizens who suffer the consequences of this technological testing in their own flesh and who, as we have said, they use cones to sabotage the routes of the robotaxis and cars without drivers on duty.
It is worth mentioning that before moving on to these more creative methods, the aforementioned group Have you tried to talk to these companies? to limit operations in certain zones and hours; In the face of the ignored case, the “SSR” group has taken action by deactivating the vehicles using giant traffic cones. Of the Americans, of the good ones, who already know that in the USA everything is great because there is no gusa.
A resident of San Francisco said in a tweet the following: “All you need is a cone and a self-driving car. We put the cone on the hood and you just created a traffic calming unicorn!.
We can fight back.
The Fun Way- All you need is a cone and an empty AV. Gently place the cone on the hood- you just created a 🦄 & temporary traffic calming!The Responsible Way- Tune into next week’s CPUC meeting (7/13) at 11am & give public comment. https://t.co/68bCc1Iliupic.twitter.com/bVJpqVL0Ns
— ConeSF – Week of Cone (@SafeStreetRebel) July 5, 2023
The autonomous taxi service has been under the microscope for some time in San Francisco, both the “SSR” and several neighbors have been reporting inconsistencies for quite some time, for example: a group of autonomous Chevrolet Bolt got stuck by themselves and they blocked one of the main arteries of the city during hours. Other vehicles collided with several buses and many others give up lighting lines causing fires. Whether Cruise or Waymo, these vehicles are capable of wreaking havoc and even becoming criminals on the run as they They don’t respect stop signs either. of the San Francisco Law Enforcement Corps.
Despite the pushback and bad press these companies are garnering, both Waymo and Cruise plan to expand beyond their current boundaries and venture into 24/7 service. In legal matters and that also serves as an administrative context, the California Public Utilities Commission (regulatory administration) plans to vote this July to allow autonomous cars to expand these operations. This administrative milestone has caused Safe Street Rebels members to take the law into their own hands creating awareness on social media and showing off the disabled cars with cones on the hood.
The rebel group argues that robotaxis are not only bad for San Francisco traffic but also are not sustainable from an environmental point of view. They specifically mention the emissions associated with the manufacture of the Chevy Bolt’s battery as well as the emissions of wear particles from the tires of each vehicle. We will see how the situation evolves after the vote and how it will affect all those involved: companies, administration, the rebel alliance or the citizens who see it well. As you can see, many involved in the subject.
Cone at night, cone at day, cone when you want, without delay! pic.twitter.com/GVN2lk03dd
— ConeSF – Week of Cone (@SafeStreetRebel) July 10, 2023
Progress or not, it seems that the situation has supporters and detractors in equal parts. Whether you are an angry anti-progress citizen or a pro-progress citizen, we always want to know your opinion about this melon: Robotaxi: yes or no? We read you.
