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sl8

(16,245 posts)
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 08:02 AM Jul 2023

SF activists' 'coning' stunt against Cruise, Waymo self-driving cars goes viral

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/waymo-cruise-viral-orange-cone-stunt-18189342.php

SF activists' ‘coning’ stunt against Cruise, Waymo self-driving cars goes viral

Joshua Bote
SFGATE
Updated: July 7, 2023 2:12 p.m.

Waymo and Cruise are soon expected to receive approval to operate fully in San Francisco: No safety drivers will be required, and the companies can now charge passengers for all rides, which up until now have been largely free for testers.

With less than a week left before the scheduled California Public Utilities Commission meeting June 13, a group of San Francisco activists is proposing a last-ditch approach to protesting the driverless vehicles: Shut them down with orange traffic cones.

Safe Street Rebel, a loose network of anti-car, pro-public transit activists, says that simply placing a cone on the hood of these cars forces them to a standstill.

A video posted by the group has been gaining social media traction since Wednesday.




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Hugh_Lebowski

(33,643 posts)
1. Interesting strategy I guess, but man the video itself is annoying
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 08:32 AM
Jul 2023

Computer-generated robotic voice, and music way too loud relative to the narration, and annoyingly bass-heavy.

Also, by doing this you're blocking traffic for everyone else.

stopdiggin

(12,831 posts)
2. sorry - these people (and their 'movement') are annoying
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 11:30 AM
Jul 2023

self appointed guardians of - whatever

taking away someone else's option and choice, is kind of ..
darn! use to have a word for that ..
(or several)

3Hotdogs

(13,403 posts)
4. But does "someone else's option" endanger the lives of pedestrians and motorists?
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 12:18 PM
Jul 2023

I ask, has the technology been proven to be safe?

stopdiggin

(12,831 posts)
6. and who is the proper arbitor of that?
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 12:31 PM
Jul 2023

a street gang with an agenda - or proper authority after examining available data (and probably some degree of public 'comment' and input)?

How 'safe' are the streets of Frisco now? And does that metric deserve consideration here - either for or against? And, again - do the 'traffic cone bandits' get to decide these things?

Martin68

(24,611 posts)
8. A lot safer than a group of jokers putting cones on the hoods of self-driving cars.
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 02:55 PM
Jul 2023

I suggest if you want to prove they are unsafe then do so. This is not a joke.

kimbutgar

(23,283 posts)
3. Whenever I see them in the city when I'm driving. Go to a different street to avoid them
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 11:46 AM
Jul 2023

But I love the cone strategy. I see them on the streets but on the freeways they have drivers in them.

3Hotdogs

(13,403 posts)
5. I suspect it doesn't have to be a cone. Any obstacle on the hood will block the computer's ability
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 12:23 PM
Jul 2023

do "evaluate" road conditions and the car will stop.

Of more interest, my present and last cars had/d forward crash avoidance. But when snow or sleet covers the plate on the front grill, it and the cruise control wouldn't work. There was no prior warning, it would just not work. The rest of the car was not affected.

So if the fully automatic technology gets implemented, will the car suddenly stop in the middle of a highway when the system gets sleet covered?

As far as I know, the systems have only been tested in dry climate areas.

Martin68

(24,611 posts)
9. If you "suspect" that, then create the appropriate conditions in the appropriate climate and test it
Sun Jul 9, 2023, 02:57 PM
Jul 2023

I'm not sure I want Groucho Marx and his buddies setting safety standards.

NBachers

(18,132 posts)
10. I live in San Francisco. I don't support this. It just fucks shit up even more.
Wed Jul 12, 2023, 08:54 PM
Jul 2023

They sure love being media hogs though, don’t they?

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