Would you ride in a driverless car? Waymo launches testing in Baltimore.
Would you ride in a driverless car? That's a question Baltimore residents will need to ask themselves as Waymo launches in Charm City.
These driverless taxis are now on the roads in Baltimore for manual testing, meaning a driver is operating the vehicle so it can get used to the roads in the city.
What's next for driverless cars in Baltimore?
The rollout will be phased in. The next step includes vehicles operating with a specialist in the car for safety before they run fully autonomous.
"Your phones are doing everything for you. Your car is going to do everything for you soon. Your kitchen is going to be cooking for you. That's some weird stuff, man," said Sam Hall, who lives in Fells Point. "I like to drive, have to control the car myself."
Waymo, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, currently offers driverless rides in five cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Phoenix, and Atlanta.
Testing was also announced on Wednesday for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Tests are already underway in additional cities, including New York.
"It seems like something straight out of the Jetsons," said Tim Young, who lives in Baltimore's Harbor East.
Many people tell WJZ that self-driving cars aren't just reserved for futuristic movies or cartoons, but they are the present.
"I feel like that's very, like West Coast, like LA thing. I didn't think they would make it over here," said Jules Humbert, who lives in Upper Fells Point.
Waymo did not confirm when the vehicles would be fully autonomous. The company says it makes rollout decisions based on safety data it accrues during the manual testing.
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) says it has always been at the forefront of these new technologies.
The state's Connected and Automated Vehicles work group is meeting on Thursday in a closed-door meeting. According to the agenda, a representative from Waymo is scheduled to speak.
Waymo is also expanding to neighboring Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
What are the safety concerns?
This rollout is raising safety concerns for some after police in San Francisco pulled over a Waymo after it made an illegal U-turn. In Atlanta, a Waymo was caught on video passing a school bus, which was stopped with its red lights flashing.
According to Waymo's data, it has reduced pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcycle crashes. It also says it's reduced serious injury crashes by 91 percent.
"It seems like it's safe. It seems like a lot of people are using them in other cities. So yeah, I'm willing to give it a try," Young said.
That's still not enough for some Baltimoreans.
"I feel like the way that people drive in Baltimore, you kind of have to be on your toes all the time, and I don't know how a robot car would react," Humbert added. "I don't know if I would trust it."
Dana Schaich says she rode in a Waymo in San Francisco earlier this year.
"It felt very, like passive, almost like when it's on the road, and another car starts going, it's going to let the other car go, so very safe," Schaich said. "It's different, and I think they're really safe. So I would say, definitely get in a Waymo."