One of the most common questions first responders ask involves ensuring a vehicle is stopped or in park following a crash. Typically, a passenger cannot grab the steering wheel and wrest control of the vehicle — a feature that provides security in the company’s everyday operations.
But Waymo’s remote services team can enable such control following a crash or when law enforcement requests it on the dedicated phone line.
Another common question involves vehicle behavior at a traffic stop.
In April, an AV operated by GM-backed Cruise drove away from a police officer in San Francisco before a traffic stop could be completed. This incident comes up frequently in Bay Area training classes. A Waymo vehicle would have responded differently, Patrick said.
“If they had stopped our vehicle, the windows would have been rolled down and the rider-services people would have been on the speaker saying, ‘Hi officer, how can I help you?’,” he said.
The incident led to renewed questions about AV interactions with police officers, while also accentuating larger tensions between AV companies operating in the city and public officials, who say they have little control over what happens on their streets.
Jeffrey Tumlin, director of transportation at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, often hears about problems involving AVs, either from 911 operators or on social media. Waymo is an exception in proactive communication when problems arise, he said.
“We hear from Waymo,” Tumlin said. “We don’t always hear from other companies we work with.”
Sometimes communication is a two-way street. In November, an AV was vandalized in the city. San Francisco police officers called the Waymo dispatch center to alert them. It turned out it was not a Waymo vehicle. For Patrick, it didn’t matter.
“They had their training, they called the Waymo number,” he said. “For a guy that does what I do, that made me feel awesome.”
