UPDATE 8/15: Waymo issued a fix to reduce the honking, though that resulted in the vehicles going to an adjacent cul-de-sac, where they began honking incessantly. Waymo has now fixed that issue and says the adjustments should “keep the noise down for our neighbors moving forward,” according to NBC Bay Area. “Our sincerest apologies,” the company tweeted.Original Story 8/12:It’s no secret that some San Francisco residents aren’t huge Waymo fans. In February, a crowd set a Waymo car on fire in the city’s Chinatown district, and in July, a 36-year-old slashed the tires of another vehicle 17 times. While most residents’ problems with the cars lie in their self-driving capabilities, a group of residents are now upset about something else: their horns.Residents in the city’s South of Market neighborhood say that honking from the vehicles is keeping them up at night. Between rides, the cars wait in a parking lot next to an apartment building. When they back into a parking space, however, the vehicles around them honk, reports NBC Bay Area.
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The honking happens at different levels and times, but residents say it’s at its worst around the evening rush hour and 4 a.m. each day.Residents have had trouble contacting someone from Waymo about the issue; however, a Waymo spokesperson told NBC Bay Area: “We are aware that in some scenarios our vehicles may briefly honk while navigating our parking lots. The company says it “identified the cause and are in the process of implementing a fix.”
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On X, Waymo CPO Saswat Panigrahi wrote: “We get this a lot. The Waymo Driver does indeed honk when necessary! Here’s an example where a garbage truck in SF began reversing towards our vehicle. The Driver automatically honked and reversed to make way for the truck before moving on.”
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Prior to starting at PCMag, I worked in Big Tech on the West Coast for six years. From that time, I got an up-close view of how software engineering teams work, how good products are launched, and the way business strategies shift over time. After I’d had my fill, I changed course and enrolled in a master’s program for journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago. I’m now a reporter with a focus on electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
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