©Reuters. In San Francisco, California, a Waymo self-driving robotaxi owned by Alphabet's self-driving division burst into flames after the San Francisco Fire Department announced on social media that fireworks were thrown into the vehicle.
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Written by Hyunjoo Jin, Mariana Sandoval, Abirup Roy
(Reuters) – A crowd used fireworks to set fire to and vandalize a Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco on Saturday, leading Alphabet Inc.'s company and authorities to say it was the most destructive attack on self-driving cars in the United States yet. announced that it was an attack.
A crowd surrounded a white sport-utility vehicle as it drove through the streets of the city's Chinatown district Saturday night, a company spokesperson said.
Michael Vandy, a witness who posted a video of the incident, told Reuters that people were celebrating Chinese New Year by setting off fireworks. A person jumped on the hood of a Waymo car and broke the windshield. He told Reuters in a Twitter direct message that another person jumped on the hood 30 seconds later as some in the crowd applauded in approval.
“It was wild,” he wrote, noting that people with skateboards broke windows and others graffitied cars. “People were divided into two groups: those who encouraged it and those who were just shocked and started filming. No one stood up. So there was nothing they could do to stand up to dozens of people. That means.”
His video showed a huge plume of black smoke and the vehicle engulfed in flames.
Waymo said someone threw a firework inside the vehicle, causing it to burst into flames. The fire department posted a photo of the burned car on social media and said fireworks were the cause of the fire.
“The vehicle was not carrying any passengers and no injuries were reported. We are working closely with local safety authorities to respond to the situation,” the company said. The cause of the attack was not disclosed.
San Francisco police said they were investigating the cause of the fire, but did not say whether any arrests had been made. His electric Jaguar I-PACE is equipped with 29 cameras and other sensors.
The latest incident occurred the day before the Super Bowl NFL Championship, featuring the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.
“This was a one-time event,” a Waymo spokesperson told Reuters, adding that the company “will continue to serve passengers throughout today's festival.”
This is not the first incident of harassment against self-driving cars, but the severity of the incident is heightened by public hostility last year following a pedestrian-dragging accident involving a vehicle operated by General Motors (NYSE:)'s cruise division. It may indicate that
Groups have previously disrupted the operation of self-driving cars in San Francisco and Phoenix, Arizona, by blocking their path, attempting to board them, and jumping on their hoods. A viral video showed people placing orange cones on top of vehicles to jam the sensors and force them to stop suddenly.
Last week, a driverless Waymo vehicle collided with a bicycle in San Francisco, resulting in minor injuries. The incident is being investigated by state motor vehicle regulators.
Waymo offers driverless ride-hailing services in Phoenix and is working on expanding its service to Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.
On October 2, 2023, a pedestrian who was struck by another vehicle was thrown into the path of a self-driving cruise car and dragged 20 feet (6 meters). California subsequently suspended the company's driverless test license, and Cruise withdrew all self-driving cars from testing in the United States.
Last year, fully autonomous test vehicles, led by the Cruise and Waymo fleets, drove about 3.3 million miles (5.3 million kilometers) in California.
