Waymo’s robotaxis begin driving themselves around London

Robotaxi firm Waymo says its vehicles in London are now being driven by artificial intelligence, after previously launching earlier this year.

Waymo, which was started as Google’s self-driving division, introduced the cars to the UK but with human drivers in the seat in case anything went wrong.

Now, they’ve said they’re taking the next step towards ‘fully autonomous passenger services later this year, pending government approval’.

Co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov announced the new testing, writing: ‘Autonomous testing now underway with specialists behind the wheel as we master local nuances and validate performance on UK roads — a key step toward rider-only deployment.’

Not all of the Waymo cars are fully controlled by AI just yet, however – the majority still have human safety drivers.

Sky News found that within the ‘past few weeks’, the company started letting the cars take control.

The futuristic cars claim to be involved in 92% fewer crashes that cause ‘serious or fatal injuries’ compared to human drivers, but not everyone is so keen on the idea.

Polling from YouGov found that only 3% of Britons say they would trust a driverless taxi ‘a great deal,’ while 14% said they trusted them ‘a fair amount.’

By contrast, almost eight in ten (79%) express little or no trust, with 44% saying they would not trust one at all.

Driverless taxis will get the full green light in the UK from 2027, when the Automated Vehicles Act is implemented.

How safe are robotaxis?

As many other firms try out computer-aided driving, especially in the US, the number of self-driving vehicle incidents has begun to increase.

Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, has been testing cars powered by self-driving software since 2015. To date, 59 people have died in crashes involving the vehicle, monitoring groups say.

From July to December 2023, the number of crashes in the US averaged about 17 per month, according to official figures.

But the tally has been rising since, now averaging at 59 incidents a month, peaking in May last year with 110.

Analysts say that the increase isn’t a verdict of the safety of the self-driving cars but just the result of more being on the road.

Have there been any accidents with Waymo?

Last October, the unofficial mayor of a busy San Francisco street died after being struck by one of Waymo’s self-driving cars.

KitKat, the beloved pet cat at Randa’s Market, was run over by an automated car on October 27. He was rushed to a hospital by a bartender working nearby, but was pronounced dead.

Anger in the community has increased after it was revealed that on the same day KitKat was killed, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said she thought society is ‘ready to accept deaths’ caused by automated cars.

But KitKat’s owner pointed out that next time, the death could be that of a child, not just a beloved pet.

Waymo said in a statement: ‘We reviewed this, and while our vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers, a nearby cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away.

‘We send our deepest sympathies to the cat’s owner and the community who knew and loved him, and we have made a donation to a local animal rights organisation in his honour.’

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