4 ms·

Blind Waymo Users Revel in the Joy of Riding Alone

32 points by bookofjoe 5mo ago

bookofjoe 5mo ago
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/us/waymo-robot-taxis-blind.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lFA.SUh6.VURvaxVRZafv&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/us/waymo-robot-taxis-blin...
ericpp 5mo ago
Nice native ad for Waymo
- genewitch 5mo ago
  the native ad is in the NYT, not HN. It is a Native Ad. i don't have the clip where the CEO of NPR discusses "underwriting" via ad inserts that "go with the flow." What bothers me is someone who is correct getting downvoted, merely because it's sarcastic.
antonvs 5mo ago
What are those blind Waymo users going to do when a car ends up stuck in a flooded roadway?
- strathmeyer 5mo ago
  [dead]
- sieabahlpark 5mo ago
  [dead]
- JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
  > What are those blind Waymo users going to do when a car ends up stuck in a flooded roadway? Same thing anyone should. Get help.
- free_bip 5mo ago
  I think they would most likely end up calling 911. I hope that Waymos only drive in locations with cellphone signal.
- coalstartprob 5mo ago
  [dead]
tqi 5mo ago
The hostility towards self driving is so baffling to me. Setting aside the question of which company is going to get there first, it seems patently obvious that self driving is clearly the safer future for drivers and pedestrians. after all, self driving cars are getting better, and human drivers are not. That said it's not guaranteed that the version we get will be without drawbacks, and imo we should be trying to shape a better version of the future by passing regulations now before unwanted behaviors calcify. Stuff like limiting how many empty miles cars are allowed to drive so that ppl don't just circle their cars around the block to avoid paying for parking, or regulating how long security updates need to be supported to keep insecure cars off the roads.
- fragmede 5mo ago
  The backdrop is driving for Uber/Lyft/Doordash/etc is the only job out there for a lot of people, and taking that away leaves them high and dry. You can say it's not Waymo's responsibility to give them jobs and provide for their needs, and you'd be right, but then, on a societal scale, who's is it? Without an entity who's responsible for that, it's easy to see hostility against self-driving cars as a symptom of that. Who's going to pay to put food on the table if I don't and can't find a job? On a personal level, yes, that's my problem, but it's not a problem that everyone out there is equipped to solve on their own.
  - JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
    > driving for Uber/Lyft/Doordash/etc is the only job out there for a lot of people We regularly fuck over this class of people. The backlash is broader, and my opinion, driven by a combination of taxi economic interests (see: New York, where Hochul and Mamdani have significant taxi-lobby money interests) and genuine but misplaced care for drivers.
  - tqi 5mo ago
    [dead]
- dyauspitr 5mo ago
  It’s the same as pushback against data centers with asinine reasons like light pollution. People are scared for their jobs and are grasping.

32 points by bookofjoe 5mo ago

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/us/waymo-robot-taxis-blind.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lFA.SUh6.VURvaxVRZafv&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/us/waymo-robot-taxis-blin...

ericpp 5mo ago

Nice native ad for Waymo

genewitch 5mo ago
the native ad is in the NYT, not HN. It is a Native Ad. i don't have the clip where the CEO of NPR discusses "underwriting" via ad inserts that "go with the flow." What bothers me is someone who is correct getting downvoted, merely because it's sarcastic.

antonvs 5mo ago

What are those blind Waymo users going to do when a car ends up stuck in a flooded roadway?

strathmeyer 5mo ago
[dead]
sieabahlpark 5mo ago
[dead]
JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
> What are those blind Waymo users going to do when a car ends up stuck in a flooded roadway? Same thing anyone should. Get help.
free_bip 5mo ago
I think they would most likely end up calling 911. I hope that Waymos only drive in locations with cellphone signal.
coalstartprob 5mo ago
[dead]

tqi 5mo ago

The hostility towards self driving is so baffling to me. Setting aside the question of which company is going to get there first, it seems patently obvious that self driving is clearly the safer future for drivers and pedestrians. after all, self driving cars are getting better, and human drivers are not. That said it's not guaranteed that the version we get will be without drawbacks, and imo we should be trying to shape a better version of the future by passing regulations now before unwanted behaviors calcify. Stuff like limiting how many empty miles cars are allowed to drive so that ppl don't just circle their cars around the block to avoid paying for parking, or regulating how long security updates need to be supported to keep insecure cars off the roads.

fragmede 5mo ago
The backdrop is driving for Uber/Lyft/Doordash/etc is the only job out there for a lot of people, and taking that away leaves them high and dry. You can say it's not Waymo's responsibility to give them jobs and provide for their needs, and you'd be right, but then, on a societal scale, who's is it? Without an entity who's responsible for that, it's easy to see hostility against self-driving cars as a symptom of that. Who's going to pay to put food on the table if I don't and can't find a job? On a personal level, yes, that's my problem, but it's not a problem that everyone out there is equipped to solve on their own.
- JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
  > driving for Uber/Lyft/Doordash/etc is the only job out there for a lot of people We regularly fuck over this class of people. The backlash is broader, and my opinion, driven by a combination of taxi economic interests (see: New York, where Hochul and Mamdani have significant taxi-lobby money interests) and genuine but misplaced care for drivers.
- tqi 5mo ago
  [dead]
dyauspitr 5mo ago
It’s the same as pushback against data centers with asinine reasons like light pollution. People are scared for their jobs and are grasping.