Wielding rocks & knives, Arizonans attack self-driving cars

CHANDLER: The assailant slipped out of a park and wiftly slashed one of the tyres of a self-driving van operated by Waymo, the driverless-car company spun out of Google. The slashing was one of nearly two dozen attacks on driverless vehicles over the past two years in Chandler, Arizona, where Waymo started testing its vans in 2017. The city has had an early look at public misgivings over the rise of AI, with city officials hearing complaints about everything from safety to possible job losses.

Some people have pelted Waymo vans with rocks, according to police reports. Others have tried to run the vehicles off the road. In one episodes, a man waved a revolver at a Waymo vehicle and the emergency backup driver. He told the police that he “despises” driverless cars, referring to the killing of a female pedestrian in March in Tempe by a self-driving Uber car.

“There are other places they can test,” said Erik O’Polka, 37, who was issued a warning by police after multiple reports that his Jeep Wrangler had tried to run Waymo vans off the road. His wife, Elizabeth, 35, admitted that she herself “may have forced them to pull over” so she could yell at them. The trouble started, the couple said, when their 10-year-old son was nearly hit by one of the vehicles while he was playing in a nearby cul-de-sac.

“They said they need realworld examples, but I don’t want to be their real-world mistake,” said Erik. At least 21 such attacks have been levelled at Waymo vans in Chandler. The emergency drivers told police that the company preferred not to pursue prosecution of the assailants.

A Waymo manager said the company emphasised that it was worried about disruptions of its testing in Chandler. “Safety is the core of everything we do, which means that keeping our drivers, our riders, and the public safe is our top priority,” said Alexis Georgeson, a Waymo spokeswoman. He said the company took the safety of its emergency drivers seriously and disputed claims that Waymo was trying to avoid bad publicity by opting against pursuing criminal charges.