A tech journalist has said a ride in a self-driving car called ‘Peaches’ turned into a dystopian nightmare after the vehicle accelerated and refused to let him out.
Associated Press technology reporter Michael Liedtke was picked up outside a San Francisco bar last September by the self-driving Chevrolet Bolt, called Peaches.
Liedtke said the half-hour journey, operated by the Cruise company, was smooth until a “twist” left him fearful the experience would be something he would regret.
In a report, Liedtke said that as he approached his destination, Peaches began accelerating and drove off in the opposite direction.
After frantically calling the Cruise support center, they told him that Peaches had gone haywire and after the car took him back to the destination, it did the same.
Associated Press technical reporter Michael Liedtke is pictured here in Peaches last September
The empty driver’s seat is shown in a self-driving Chevy Bolt car called Peaches with Associated Press reporter Michael Liedtke
In an account of the trip, Liedtke writes: ‘The concept sounds good. And the technology to make it happen is advancing steadily.
“But when something goes wrong, like at the end of my meeting with Peaches, that feeling of surprise and delight can disappear very quickly.
“As we approached my designated drop-off location near the Fairmont Hotel, Peaches advised me to gather my things and get ready to get out of the car.
As Liedtke retrieved his bag, he said it “suddenly accelerated and inexplicably began to move in the opposite direction.”
After seeing on the dashboard screen that he was somehow “20 minutes from his destination,” he said he was starting to “go crazy.”
He said he “asked Peaches what was going on” to no avail.
“I used a feature in Cruise’s ride-hailing center that allows a passenger to contact a person in a call center.
The Cruise rep confirmed that Peaches had gotten confused, apologized, and assured me the robotaxi had been reprogrammed to take me to my original destination.
“Then it started doing the same thing again, which made me wonder if Peaches might like me a little too much to let me go.”
A cruise vehicle in San Francisco, California, USA, on Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Cruise, a self-driving robot taxi, is seen in San Francisco, California, USA on July 24, 2023.
After the chaotic journey, Liedtke said he contacted Cruise’s call center to report the outage.
“Suddenly, Peaches came to a stop in the middle of the street,” he added, jumping from the vehicle shortly before 10 p.m. several blocks from his destination.
The new self-driving cars have become commonplace in San Francisco and have collided with at least two pets since their rollout.
The Wall Street Journal reported that first responders say they’re getting in the way, and pedestrians are filling social media with reports of the cars’ antics.
The companies that run the vehicles, Cruise and Waymo, now want to offer a ride-hailing business that can compete with Uber and Lyft.
If the companies get their wishes, the city will become ground zero for one of the first major urban experiments in autonomous vehicle transportation.
A vote is expected later this month on whether Cruise will be allowed to expand their presence in the city and whether Waymo should charge for rides at all times.
Jeffrey Tumlin, director of transportation for the San Francisco Transportation Authority, told the WSJ, “We think autonomous vehicles are great and we believe they will one day be safer than human drivers.
“Until now, the industry has not demonstrated that.”
Cruise chief executive Kyle Vogt said in an interview that officials would cause more people to be harmed if they slowed down the rollout of self-driving cars, citing company data that linked their increased presence to fewer collisions.
Both companies currently have waiting lists to get on the apps, with Cruise offering paid night rides and people currently using Waymo for free.