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Angry Mob Sets Waymo’s Driverless Car On Fire In San Francisco – They Don’t Want Self-driving Taxis
Angry mob vandalize, sets Waymo’s driverless car on fire in San Francisco because they don’t want self-driving taxis.
Waymo said that the Jaguar I-Pace self-driving SUV wasn’t transporting any riders, and no injuries have been reported.
Three years before last month’s attack, Waymo released a study to prove that its robotaxis were better at driving than humans.
Last month, some residents in San Francisco, United States, made known their dislike for robotaxis after setting fire to a Waymo Jaguar I-Pace self-driving SUV cruising on the street using a firework.
Footage of the attack along a street in the city’s Chinatown district was posted online. In the video, crowd were seen bashing the windows of the white SUV before someone threw a firework into the cabin, setting it on fire.
While the case has been handed over to the police for investigation, Waymo said in statement that the “vehicle was not transporting any riders, and no injuries have been reported.”
“We are working closely with local safety officials to respond to the situation,” said a company spokesperson.
According to a post on San Francisco Fire Department X page, the vehicle was set on fire after someone placed a lit firework in the car.
“Waymo Vehicle surrounded and then graffiti’d, windows were broken, and firework lit on fire inside the vehicle which ultimately caught the entire vehicle on fire.”
The latest attack shows that some residents in San Francisco don’t want self-driving taxis on the streets, a fact that conforms with a survey that shows that most Americans are afraid of self-driving cars.
A 2023 survey conducted by American Automobile Association (AAA) had earlier found that 68% of roughly 1,000 people respondents are afraid of driving in a self-driving vehicle, an increase on 55% from year 2022’s study.
“We were not expecting such a dramatic decline in trust from previous years,” said Greg Brannon, director of automotive research for AAA. “Although with the number of high-profile crashes that have occurred from over-reliance on current vehicle technologies, this isn’t entirely surprising.”
Almost three years before last month’s destructive attack on its Jaguar I-Pace self-driving car, Waymo released a study to prove that its robotaxis were better at driving than humans.
