Waymo has a rough July 4th in San Francisco: robotaxis roll over live fireworks, one catches fire, and a traffic jam forms with a long line of stalled vehicles; in another case, two 15-year-olds ride one while allegedly drinking and shooting projectiles. A Tesla Semi crash kills two people, raising questions about automatic emergency braking and driver monitoring, while regulators still lack a finalized heavy-truck AEB standard. A deep dive celebrates the right-edge white line’s safety history, then critiques “independent” AV safety reviews and rosy government messaging. A model argues broad deployment of proven safety tech (AEB, speed assistance, alcohol detection) beats AV hype. Recalls cover Ford pedestrian sounds, Mach‑E differential failure, Mustang wiper glitches, and a GM third-row power-fold seat hazard. Support Auto Safety https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/terrifying-moment-waymo-drives-exploding-205608345.html https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/waymo-firework-fire-san-francisco-22333244.php https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/dozens-waymos-clog-presidio-july-142239118.html https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/bay-area-teen-waymo-riders-nabbed-for-allegedly-shooting-projectiles-from-robotaxi/ar-AA27pze0 More links on the site.

Waymo's Firework Fiasco

There Auto Be A Law

You're listening to There Auto Be A Law, the Center for Auto Safety podcast with Executive Director Michael Brooks, Chief Engineer Fred Perkins, and hosted by me, Anthony Simenon. For over 50 years, the Center for Auto Safety has worked to make cars safer.

Hey listeners, welcome to an episode of Get a Pardon for Being Bad. That sucked. Let's try that again. Who got a pardon this week? You know, the soccer player. Oh, well, I mean, he got a red card rescinded. I wouldn't call that a pardon. Didn't help him anyway. Sorry guys, we're out of the World Cup again. Yeah, good name for the podcast, red card rescinded. Anyway, today is July 8th. The weather has cooled off where we're located in three different locations.

And I hope it's not too overwhelmingly hot where you are. And with that, let's start off. How was your guys' Fourth of July? Did you have a good time? I had a great time. I got to bed at about 9 o'clock. Wow. That's always good. That is good. Michael, do you have a good morning? I didn't go to bed that early, but, you know, I had a good time. We had a thunderstorm instead of fireworks, but otherwise, pretty good. You know who didn't have a good time? Waymo! Yeah.

That's right, folks. Waymo, who's, you know, they're focused on your security and safety above all else. Well, in San Francisco, Waymo's drove over fireworks with and without passengers. There's a video of a woman in the backseat of a Waymo. And I've got to tell you, look, if you're in the backseat of a Waymo and you're taking videos, first go to a video class because none of you can hold your camera straight.

Waymo's Firework Fiasco

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Waymo's Firework Fiasco

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.