Honking from self-driving cars keeps San Francisco residents up at night
By Jack Aylmer (Energy Correspondent), Ian Kennedy (Video Editor)
Residents in a San Francisco neighborhood have been dealing with an unusual and persistent noise issue: late-night honking from autonomous vehicles operated by Waymo, a driverless taxi service. The noise, which has been ongoing for weeks, originates from the cars as they gather in a lot near the area.
Media Landscape
This story is a Media Miss by the right as only 10% of the coverage is from right leaning media. Learn more about this dataBias Distribution
Left
San Francisco residents fed up with Waymo cars that won’t stop honking at each other
Click to see story on The IndependentMystery of midnight honking by Waymo robotaxis solved
Click to see story on Business InsiderNighttime disturbance: Robotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on Zeit OnlineSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 6 PhiladelphiaSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 13 HoustonSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc11 RaleighWaymo responds to honking vehicles in SF parking lot after ABC7 News report
Click to see story on abc 7 NewsSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc30 NewsNew software update stops robotaxis honking in San Francisco
Click to see story on SpiegelWaymo driverless cars have gotten inexplicably chatty, honking at one another all night
Click to see story on EngadgetWaymo Innovates New Ways To Annoy Even Non-Drivers: Constant Nighttime Honking
Click to see story on JalopnikConfused Robotaxis Gather in Droves to Honk at Each Other All Night
Click to see story on FuturismRobotaxis frustrate sleepless residents with constant honking
Click to see story on Sky News UKSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 7 ChicagoSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 7 LASan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 7 NYHonking robotaxis are keeping residents awake at night
Click to see story on Digital TrendsHonking from self-driving cars keeps San Francisco residents up at night
Click to see story on Straight Arrow NewsRight
Untracked Bias
Robotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on stern.deNon-stop honking robot taxis made life miserable for the residents of a house in San Francisco
Click to see story on telex.huRobotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on watson.ch/Waymo taxis: Software update to end nightly honking
Click to see story on HeiseRobotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on inFranken.deLate-Night Honking From Waymo Robotaxis Irk San Francisco Residents
Click to see story on PC MagRobotaxis cause early morning chaos with unexplained honking in San Francisco parking lot
Click to see story on BreezyScrollAccording to residents, the honking typically occurs around 2 a.m. when the vehicles leave to charge for the day and again at approximately 4:30 a.m. when they return to the lot. The sound is not a malfunction but a feature designed to prevent low-speed collisions. However, when several of these driverless cars start moving simultaneously, their sensors detect one another, triggering the honking and causing this late-night disturbance.
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“We recently introduced a useful feature to help avoid low-speed collisions by honking if other cars get too close while reversing toward us,” Waymo said in a statement. “It has been working great in the city, but we didn’t quite anticipate it would happen so often in our own parking lots.”
The issue generated both local complaints and national attention, prompting Waymo to step in and attempt to resolve the problem. The company has since updated the software in its vehicles, which it claims should resolve stop the honking and reduce the noise levels.
[JACK AYLMER]
IMAGINE THIS GOING ON OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW ALL NIGHT LONG.
THAT’S WHAT SOME SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTS have been dealing WITH FOR WEEKS.
THE SOUND IS COMING FROM CARS OWNED BY THE AUTONOMOUS TAXI SERVICE WAYMO.
THESE DRIVERLESS VEHICLES GATHER IN A LOT – WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE INCIDENTS OF LATE-NIGHT HONKING.
THE AUTOMATED CARS – GOING AT IT WITH EACH OTHER IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING.
WITH NEARBY RESIDENTS REPORTING MUCH OF THE NOISE COMING AROUND 2 AM WHEN THE CARS LEAVE TO GO CHARGE UP FOR THE DAY
AND THEN AGAIN AROUND 4:30 AM WHEN THEY RETURN TO THE LOT.
THE HONKING IS NO GLITCH. BUT A FEATURED DESIGNED TO HELP AVOID LOW SPEED COLLISIONS-
BUT WHEN THE CARS ALL START MOVING AT THE SAME TIME, THEIR SENSORS BEGIN PICKING UP ONE ANOTHER CAUSING THE DISTURBANCE.
THE STORY GAINED A LOT OF ATTENTION AFTER FIRST BEING REPORTED BY THE VERGE. AND THE COMPLAINTS FINALLY PROMPTED WAYMO TO TAKE ACTION.
THE COMPANY SAYING IT HAS UPDATED THE VEHICLES SOFTWARE WHICH SHOULD RESOLVE THE PROBLEM AND KEEP THE NOISE DOWN.
JACK AYLMER – STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.
Media Landscape
This story is a Media Miss by the right as only 10% of the coverage is from right leaning media. Learn more about this dataBias Distribution
Left
San Francisco residents fed up with Waymo cars that won’t stop honking at each other
Click to see story on The IndependentMystery of midnight honking by Waymo robotaxis solved
Click to see story on Business InsiderNighttime disturbance: Robotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on Zeit OnlineSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 6 PhiladelphiaSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 13 HoustonSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc11 RaleighWaymo responds to honking vehicles in SF parking lot after ABC7 News report
Click to see story on abc 7 NewsSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc30 NewsNew software update stops robotaxis honking in San Francisco
Click to see story on SpiegelWaymo driverless cars have gotten inexplicably chatty, honking at one another all night
Click to see story on EngadgetWaymo Innovates New Ways To Annoy Even Non-Drivers: Constant Nighttime Honking
Click to see story on JalopnikConfused Robotaxis Gather in Droves to Honk at Each Other All Night
Click to see story on FuturismRobotaxis frustrate sleepless residents with constant honking
Click to see story on Sky News UKSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 7 ChicagoSan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 7 LASan Francisco residents complain of late-night honking from Waymo driverless cars
Click to see story on abc 7 NYHonking robotaxis are keeping residents awake at night
Click to see story on Digital TrendsHonking from self-driving cars keeps San Francisco residents up at night
Click to see story on Straight Arrow NewsRight
Untracked Bias
Robotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on stern.deNon-stop honking robot taxis made life miserable for the residents of a house in San Francisco
Click to see story on telex.huRobotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on watson.ch/Waymo taxis: Software update to end nightly honking
Click to see story on HeiseRobotaxi company Waymo stops parking lot honking
Click to see story on inFranken.deLate-Night Honking From Waymo Robotaxis Irk San Francisco Residents
Click to see story on PC MagRobotaxis cause early morning chaos with unexplained honking in San Francisco parking lot
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