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

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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.

Link to tweet

[...]

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. Interesting strategy I guess, but man the video itself is annoying

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]

2. sorry - these people (and their 'movement') are annoying

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]

4. But does "someone else's option" endanger the lives of pedestrians and motorists?

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

[stopdiggin]

6. and who is the proper arbitor of that?

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]

8. A lot safer than a group of jokers putting cones on the hoods of self-driving cars.

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

[kimbutgar]

3. Whenever I see them in the city when I'm driving. Go to a different street to avoid them

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

[3Hotdogs]

5. I suspect it doesn't have to be a cone. Any obstacle on the hood will block the computer's ability

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]

9. If you "suspect" that, then create the appropriate conditions in the appropriate climate and test it

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

[Martin68]

7. Putting a cone on the hood of anyone's car is illegal. I don't find this amusing.

[NBachers]

10. I live in San Francisco. I don't support this. It just fucks shit up even more.

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