Waymo driverless cars are allowed to hit the road in the US! The scope of operation is further expanded!

Recently, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved Waymo's expansion request, allowing them to operate on Los Angeles, the San Francisco Peninsula and San Francisco highways, and allowing them to charge passengers in these areas. In addition, the CPUC instructed Waymo's driverless cars to travel at a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour and there is no upper limit on the size of the fleet.

Waymo takes conservative approach to driverless car expansion

While Waymo has received final permission to operate in San Francisco since August 2023, it has reserved the service only for those who have been approved by the waitlist. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Waymo operates 438 driverless cars in California for testing and commercial operations. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Waymo has 250 driverless cars in its commercial fleet in San Francisco.

The reason for Waymo's conservative approach to expansion is obvious - it does not want to repeat the mistakes of its rival Cruise, which received final approvals at about the same time as Waymo, but had different fates.

According to the California DMV, Cruise has deployed 510 driverless cars across the state. But a few months after Cruise received its final license, the company was temporarily suspended by California authorities for allegedly concealing accident information. Since then, the city of San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the organization responsible for regulating autonomous vehicles in the state, demanding a significant reduction in the number of robot taxis on the city's roads.

This undoubtedly casts a shadow on the entire industry.

Meanwhile, local lawmakers are seeking to increase regulation of driverless vehicles. Several regions, including Los Angeles and San Mateo County, are pushing to give local governments more control over the deployment of self-driving taxis.

Safety hazards are difficult to eliminate

Safety issues have always been the biggest stumbling block in the development of autonomous driving technology.

In February 2024, a Waymo driverless vehicle collided with a cyclist in San Francisco. Although the accident seemed minor, it undoubtedly once again raised public doubts about the safety of this technology.

To ensure safety, Waymo claims that it uses a multi-sensory and predictive system that can monitor the surrounding environment 360 degrees in advance and make judgments and responses to possible situations. However, in a real and complex road environment, any small mistake may lead to serious consequences.

In addition, Waymo, like other companies, is working to teach its self-driving system how to deal with special traffic participants, such as cyclists and pedestrians. However, this process is not easy and requires a lot of money and time to collect feedback and optimize algorithms. How to ensure that self-driving vehicles can operate safely and reliably in all situations remains a daunting challenge for the industry.

The public is put to the test

In addition to technical issues, self-driving taxis also face the challenge of public acceptance. Even though Waymo is committed to promoting the convenience and safety of self-driving technology, some people still have doubts about this new model.

On the one hand, any safety accident will inevitably arouse strong public attention and criticism; on the other hand, vulnerable traffic participants such as cyclists and pedestrians may also have concerns about self-driving vehicles. From the public's perspective, they need more time to build confidence in this new technology.

Last words

Ultimately, safety is the core issue for driverless cars. The recent safety accident has aroused strong concern. Waymo needs to use time and strong measures to avoid such accidents, otherwise it will face considerable resistance in future market promotion.

Landing in Los Angeles, Waymo faces more complex challenges. As a car city, Los Angeles has a large number of vehicles and a dense population. Vehicles need to adapt to more driving scenarios and their stability needs to be further improved.

Currently, autonomous driving technology is experiencing a period of great pressure and turbulence. As a leader, Waymo's expansion path is not smooth sailing, and it must face challenges head-on.