Waymo stopped Los Angeles man from stealing a driverless automobile

Waymo, the ride-hailing app that operates driverless automobiles and is owned by Google guardian firm Alphabet, stopped a person from driving off in one in every of its electrical Jaguars on Thursday, CBS Information and others reported.

LAPD responded to a report of an tried auto theft shortly after midnight on Thursday morning, in keeping with the Los Angeles Occasions, the place they discovered a man sitting within the driver’s seat of a Waymo car. The person, who could have been underneath the affect, had reportedly entered by means of the passenger’s seat and slid into the motive force’s facet. Usually, nobody is within the driver’s seat save for events when a Waymo worker does so to check the automobile.

The corporate informed the LA Occasions that Waymo automobiles are designed so individuals cannot override the automated driving system. The autos may also transfer evasively, honk its horns, announce 911 is being known as, and fold in exterior door handles so nobody can get inside.

If somebody does get within the driver’s seat, Waymo’s rider help group is alerted and might request the individual depart the automobile. If they do not — like what occurred with the person on Thursday — the police are known as. Within the 5 million rides Waymo has supplied, solely a “handful” of individuals have tried to steal the automobiles, the corporate informed the LA Occasions. The Los Angeles man who climbed into the Waymo this week was ultimately launched by police on the scene.

Waymo’s autonomous autos are at present servicing Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, and are coming quickly to Austin, Atlanta, and Miami, in keeping with its web site.