zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Tech
/
Ten Cruise Robotaxis Block Traffic Just Days After Expanding Operations
Ten Cruise Robotaxis Block Traffic Just Days After Expanding Operations-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:23

Image for article titled Ten Cruise Robotaxis Block Traffic Just Days After Expanding Operations

Concert-goers left San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival Friday bracing for bad traffic, not knowning a gaggle of would make the mess much, much worse.

The snarl happened just after 11 p.m. on two narrow streets— Vallejo Street and Grant Avenue—where they cross with Columbus Avenue in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. Social media posts of the event show up to ten driverless taxis scattered haphazardly across traffic.

reports that the driverless cars were stranded for 15 minutes due to bandwidth issues:

Cruise told NBC Bay Area on Saturday that it was suffering from wireless connectivity issues, which caused delays to cars. It added it’s working to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

This traffic jam coincided with San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival which is going on about four miles away at Golden Gate Park.

On the social media platform X on Saturday, Cruise said that a “large festival posed wireless bandwidth constraints causing delayed connectivity to our vehicles.”

I mean, who could have predicted a large crowd of people at a concert might be using their phones to upload grainy video no one will ever watch. It’s not like that’s been happening since cellphones gained internet or anything. This frustrating incident comes the day after Cruise and Waymo were cleared by the California Public Utilities Commission to not only expand their operating times and coverage, but to start charging for rides as well. San Francisco residents and leadership are not happy with the situation.

“Other than being an inconvenience, it’s dangerous,” said San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who said he immediately received complaints from his constituents about the robotaxi jam.

[...]

“There was just a total meltdown,” said Peskin of the incident Friday, “which shows that San Francisco’s government that petitioned for an incremental approach —that we’re right.”

“These things are not ready for prime time,” Peskin said of the autonomous vehicles.

He also said the notion that wireless issues caused this backup “is scary as heck if you think about the fact that moving these vehicles out of traffic requires cell service.”

Peskin worries about what would happen if a natural disaster, for example, knocked out cell service. He referred to autonomous vehicles as “amazing devices,” but is among the local leaders arguing that “they should not be expanded until the technology has been worked out.”

Cruise says it’s investigating the loss of connection, NBC reports, to prevent it from happening again. But almost exactly a year ago, all over San Fransisco for the same reason—loss of connection to main server.

Both Waymo and Cruise have had problems keeping cars moving on the road safely. Two . A Waymo taxi even . And when it comes to emergency vehicles, both self-driving car taxis tend to , where a human drive would be able to negotiate the situation.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Tech
14-Year-Old Inventor Develops Clever Blind Spot Removal Tech
14-Year-Old Inventor Develops Clever Blind Spot Removal Tech
Alaina Gassler is the sort of kid that, were my parents have heard of her when I was growing up, would have caused an immediate and unflattering comparison between myself and her, with lots of glancing back and forth between me, on the floor losing at some Atari game,...
Oct 31, 2026
Most Model 3 Owners Feel Autopilot Makes Them Safer: Report
Most Model 3 Owners Feel Autopilot Makes Them Safer: Report
We here at Jalopnik and our sister sites have of Autopilot-bashing; or, more specifically, bashing the way Tesla promotes Autopilot as “Full Self-Driving” when it is most definitely not, to say nothing of the people who blatantly misuse the technology by falling asleep at the wheel and committing other...
Oct 31, 2026
Here's Why Rotodyne, The Vertical Takeoff Airliner, Failed
Here's Why Rotodyne, The Vertical Takeoff Airliner, Failed
If a helicopter and an airplane had a little Einstein genius baby, that baby would be the Fairey Rotodyne, a passenger airliner that was said to be capable of vertical takeoff. It was supposed to be the hot new thing almost six decades ago—the way everyone would be getting...
Oct 31, 2026
Is Quattro Really The Best AWD System?
Is Quattro Really The Best AWD System?
It’s going to be properly cold soon, and that nasty white stuff is going to start falling from the sky. There is a chance that you might want a vehicle with four driven wheels to help you accelerate away from a stop and maneuver through corners. This is the...
Oct 31, 2026
This Is The First Gas Station To Convert To An EV-Charging Station In America
This Is The First Gas Station To Convert To An EV-Charging Station In America
Part of what makes electric car ownership difficult is the lack of available charging infrastructure away from the home. People can feel trapped by an EV’s range if their destination isn’t close to a charging station. Overall, we need to grow the charging infrastructure, and one Maryland gas station...
Oct 31, 2026
The Coolest Thing I Saw At SEMA This Year Is Active Aero
The Coolest Thing I Saw At SEMA This Year Is Active Aero
SEMA is about more than just Supras with big wheels and roof-mounted tents on everything [“Overlanding is right now,” I overheard someone unironically say]. It’s supposed to be a trade show, you know, where you show your new product to other people in your trade. When it comes to...
Oct 31, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved