Waymo Cars Block Ambulances in Emergencies

0:00From Durham, this is your March 2nd update. A Waymo self-driving car blocked an ambulance during a response to a mass shooting in Austin, Texas over the weekend. The shooting left two people dead and 14 others injured. Video showed the Waymo stop sideways in the road, rocking back and forth as the ambulance tried to get past. Police handled it by having an officer get inside and drive the vehicle out of the way. Waymo later said this followed their protocols with first responders trained to disengage the cars and roadside teams picking them up. The ambulance driver ended up going around on their own. This is not the first time. Back in February, a Waymo pulled into an active police scene in Atlanta, Georgia, ignoring squad cars until an officer moved in. And in December, one drove through a police standoff in Los Angeles, right into the line of fire from officers. Experts point out that self-driving cars like Waymo's often struggle in everyday spots, humans handle without thinking, such as yielding to emergency.

1:00Vehicles or avoiding active crime scenes, while Waymo claims their vehicles cut serious crashes by 90% compared to human drivers. Critics say the data comes from low-speed city, streets, making fair comparisons tough. Waymo insists they're making roads safer in the cities they serve, with big drops in injury crashes. Still, these repeated issues highlight gaps in handling real-world emergencies, even as the tech pushes forward. D&N is sponsored by our partner. Check out the episode description. Some chase piece. I put my head in it, S-O-L-I-SoliPillo.com.