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submitted 21 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) by other_cat@piefed.zip to c/technology@lemmy.world

"This is it. We're dead. We're going to die right here in the Waymo."

This combined with another recent article from some insiders at Tesla saying, along the lines, "You couldn't pay me to let one of these things drive me somewhere."

And yet I still know people who are just so chuffed about "never having to drive again."

EDIT: Comments have pointed out that this story is, at best, overblown and semi-fabricated otherwise. Take it with a massive grain of salt. But feel free to discuss self-driving, waymo, etc in the comments!

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[-] teft@piefed.social 5 points 20 hours ago

There is no safety driver in these things right? But there are controls, yes? So why couldn't one of the passengers have hopped into the driver seat and pressed the brake? I mean, I know it can be a challenge getting into the driver seat from another seat for even a fit person but i'd rather be trying to stop the thing than sitting watching in horror as the car goes crazy.

Also, trains have emergency stop buttons. Maybe we should have kill switches inside these things. Hit a button and the car pulls over and stops.

[-] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 8 points 19 hours ago

Would you want to be the person trying to get into the seat only to stop the vehicle and then get arrested by the cops for fleeing? That sounds like a recipe for getting shot in the US.

[-] teft@piefed.social 2 points 19 hours ago

These things have cameras inside and out. And they're branded. So you're going to have a record of the thing going nuts and the cops are probably not going to shoot passengers in a waymo, that's a PR nightmare.

[-] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 3 points 14 hours ago

Almost every single police shooting of a person still in their vehicle is a "PR nightmare". If that's all it took to stop this from happening it wouldn't have happened again after the first time.

[-] Chozo@fedia.io 5 points 19 hours ago

So why couldn't one of the passengers have hopped into the driver seat and pressed the brake?

No reason at all. If you touch the wheel or pedals, it automatically disengages the automatic driving.

Maybe we should have kill switches inside these things.

There is a screen on the back of the front seats, with buttons to stop/pullover and contact support.

All the safety options were there, but instead of using any of them he took out his phone to record video of not a whole lot happening. Because that's what you do when you really fear for your life, after all.

this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2026
497 points (96.6% liked)

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