Google Parent Company's Self-Driving Fleet Struggles With Intersections, Merging

Google parent company Alphabet has had a separate division devoted to autonomous driving, called Waymo, for two years, with a test fleet regularly making the rounds in the Phoenix area. A massive new report from the Information featured testimony from both anonymous sources and area residents, all claiming the technology has a long way to go before it can drive itself at an acceptable level.

Originally a project within Google, Waymo in 2015 was spun off into its own company.

The main constant discussed in the Information’s report is Waymo vans' slow reaction when encountering erratic driver or pedestrian behavior. The vans reportedly have a habit of making sudden stops while turning at intersections. They also have a hard time merging into heavy traffic on highways, opting to wait until there is more space than a human driver might feel they need. There is even a T-shaped intersection right outside the Waymo depot that the vans apparently struggle navigating since it has no stoplight.

Locals complained about traffic stoppages due to the vans suddenly stopping in situations that might benefit from faster human reaction times. The Information’s report indicated that the autonomous driving tech has trouble with technically illegal behaviors that are otherwise normal sights on roads. The vans stop for at least 3 seconds at each stoplight, which is longer than many human drivers might, for example.

Of course, most Waymo vehicles have drivers behind the wheel who can take control in case anything goes wrong. There are completely driverless Waymo vehicles, but they are mostly relegated to low-traffic areas, per the Information.

Waymo is the biggest name currently operating in the self-driving industry. Other autonomous operations, like Uber’s, have used the area as a test bed because it is flat and more manageable than a major city might be. Waymo has even partnered with businesses, offering autonomous grocery pickups at local Walmart stores.

Uber famously had a self-driving fleet in the area until May of this year. In March, an autonomous vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian while the car’s human driver reportedly watched “The Voice.”

Uber pulled back its self-driving operations in Phoenix two months later and scaled it back nationwide throughout the rest of the summer. Its autonomous vehicle operators in Pittsburgh were laid off in July.