8 ms·

I’m sure they know much more than me and have thought this through, but it feels like Miami is an absolutely awful choice. Traffic is notoriously chaotic there.

I’m sure they know much more than me and have thought this through, but it feels like Miami is an absolutely awful choice. Traffic is notoriously chaotic there. I’ve driven in LA, Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, SF, Miami, etc. It’s by far the worst place to drive, moreso even than Manhattan.

1024core 2y ago
But have you driven in Boston?
- whimsicalism 2y ago
  boston driving is so much better than SF+LA driving because at least what the drivers do there makes sense
- mankyd 2y ago
  Nah. I live in Boston. I strongly prefer public transit, but I'll take driving here over most other cities, any day of the week. The _road layout_ is awful, but drivers are pretty cooperative on the whole. Certainly more than my years driving in DC, for instance. Granted, you need to be commmital here: if you put on your turn signal, drivers will generally make space for you to get in - briefly - but you need to be quick to take advantage of the gap. I could see Waymo being too slow to the draw for this, based on what I've seen online.
oblio 2y ago
It's probably based on where public administrations are supportive. Isn't Florida notorious for being car centric? One more lane, bro, one more self driving car company, bro... :-)
s1artibartfast 2y ago
Why do you think that makes a bad market for a driverless car? If driving is miserable, that means lots of people that dont want to do it. If traffic is chaotic, that means a good place to improve their software.
ecocentrik 2y ago
Miami is a challenging place to drive for most Americans with drivers from dozens of different countries on the roads at any given time, very bad traffic that makes drivers impatient and sometimes aggressive. Driving in Manhattan was way more chaotic than anything I experienced in Miami but that was back in the days of yellow cab dominance and those bastards made full use of their bumpers as offensive implements.
rddbs 2y ago
The unique difficulties of driving in Miami might be the reason this is a good choice, not the reason it’s a bad one.
kilroy123 2y ago
I think that's the point, isn't it? Get the fleet deployed and learn how to drive in very tough cities (LA, Miami, etc.)

1024core 2y ago

But have you driven in Boston?

whimsicalism 2y ago
boston driving is so much better than SF+LA driving because at least what the drivers do there makes sense
mankyd 2y ago
Nah. I live in Boston. I strongly prefer public transit, but I'll take driving here over most other cities, any day of the week. The _road layout_ is awful, but drivers are pretty cooperative on the whole. Certainly more than my years driving in DC, for instance. Granted, you need to be commmital here: if you put on your turn signal, drivers will generally make space for you to get in - briefly - but you need to be quick to take advantage of the gap. I could see Waymo being too slow to the draw for this, based on what I've seen online.

oblio 2y ago

It's probably based on where public administrations are supportive. Isn't Florida notorious for being car centric? One more lane, bro, one more self driving car company, bro... :-)

s1artibartfast 2y ago

Why do you think that makes a bad market for a driverless car? If driving is miserable, that means lots of people that dont want to do it. If traffic is chaotic, that means a good place to improve their software.

ecocentrik 2y ago

Miami is a challenging place to drive for most Americans with drivers from dozens of different countries on the roads at any given time, very bad traffic that makes drivers impatient and sometimes aggressive. Driving in Manhattan was way more chaotic than anything I experienced in Miami but that was back in the days of yellow cab dominance and those bastards made full use of their bumpers as offensive implements.

rddbs 2y ago

The unique difficulties of driving in Miami might be the reason this is a good choice, not the reason it’s a bad one.

kilroy123 2y ago

I think that's the point, isn't it? Get the fleet deployed and learn how to drive in very tough cities (LA, Miami, etc.)