Photo: @BrokeAssStuart via X
San Francisco's people have had enough autonomous vehicles in their city and are willing to go to extremes to fight the trend. In July, activists discovered they could disable the robotaxis by placing traffic cones on the hood. The situation escalated with a masked man being filmed while destroying a Cruise AV with a hammer.
San Francisco is the city where most autonomous driving companies are testing their robotaxis, with various levels of success. At the forefront of the technology are tech titans like Alphabet (with their Waymo brand) and automotive companies like GM, which operates the Cruise robotaxi service. Cruise and Waymo have been accused of their autonomous vehicles clogging the city streets, blocking public transport, and interfering with emergency services.
Although car accidents caused by autonomous vehicles have been rare, some people want robotaxis banned from San Francisco. An activist group called Safe Street Rebel encouraged outraged citizens to block robotaxis using traffic cones. Autonomous vehicles' cameras detect the cones as obstacles on the road and stop moving. This protest gained traction in the weeks preceding a CPUC meeting when the commission greenlighted Waymo and Cruise to expand AV operations in San Francisco. The protesters even penned a name for their action: coning.
Apparently, coning robotaxis was not enough for a disgruntled person who took the matter into their own hands. A video shared on X shows a man wearing a black hoodie and ski mask clumsily hitting the sensor array on the roof of a Cruise vehicle with what appears to be a hammer. He then smashes the windshield and the driver's side window, while the front of the car appears to have been vandalized with spray paint. The enraged individual fled the scene before the police officers arrived.
Thankfully, no one was in the car when it was vandalized, but a Cruise spokesperson told The San Francisco Standard that the vehicle was damaged. Police confirmed the incident happened just before 11 PM on Sunday on Buchanan Street between Haight and Rose streets. An investigation is ongoing to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.
San Francisco journalist Stuart Schuffman, who shared the video on X under the @BrokeAssStuart handle, asks whether the guy with the hammer is a hero or a villain. Considering the backlash against robotaxis operating in the city, the question is not unwarranted. Safe Street Rebel account also retweeted the video, apparently endorsing the attacker. Their only concern was not to stop the robotaxi on the crosswalk and avoid the bus routes. Other than that, it's open season.
Despite several incidents where robotaxis have stopped working or caused nuisance to emergency services, there were no significant accidents involving autonomous vehicles. Many San Francisco citizens and even local authorities have protested the increased number of robotaxis on the city streets. Still, opposing technological progress with a hammer is ironic and, at the same time, symbolic.
Although car accidents caused by autonomous vehicles have been rare, some people want robotaxis banned from San Francisco. An activist group called Safe Street Rebel encouraged outraged citizens to block robotaxis using traffic cones. Autonomous vehicles' cameras detect the cones as obstacles on the road and stop moving. This protest gained traction in the weeks preceding a CPUC meeting when the commission greenlighted Waymo and Cruise to expand AV operations in San Francisco. The protesters even penned a name for their action: coning.
Apparently, coning robotaxis was not enough for a disgruntled person who took the matter into their own hands. A video shared on X shows a man wearing a black hoodie and ski mask clumsily hitting the sensor array on the roof of a Cruise vehicle with what appears to be a hammer. He then smashes the windshield and the driver's side window, while the front of the car appears to have been vandalized with spray paint. The enraged individual fled the scene before the police officers arrived.
Thankfully, no one was in the car when it was vandalized, but a Cruise spokesperson told The San Francisco Standard that the vehicle was damaged. Police confirmed the incident happened just before 11 PM on Sunday on Buchanan Street between Haight and Rose streets. An investigation is ongoing to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.
San Francisco journalist Stuart Schuffman, who shared the video on X under the @BrokeAssStuart handle, asks whether the guy with the hammer is a hero or a villain. Considering the backlash against robotaxis operating in the city, the question is not unwarranted. Safe Street Rebel account also retweeted the video, apparently endorsing the attacker. Their only concern was not to stop the robotaxi on the crosswalk and avoid the bus routes. Other than that, it's open season.
Despite several incidents where robotaxis have stopped working or caused nuisance to emergency services, there were no significant accidents involving autonomous vehicles. Many San Francisco citizens and even local authorities have protested the increased number of robotaxis on the city streets. Still, opposing technological progress with a hammer is ironic and, at the same time, symbolic.
PSA: Please wait until the AV is out of the crosswalk and avoid shenanigans on bus routes. Thank you! https://t.co/wqIkIKC1d2
— Safe Street Rebel (@SafeStreetRebel) September 11, 2023
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