According to a report by NBC’s TODAY Show, a driverless Waymo taxi was filmed driving directly into an active police incident in downtown Los Angeles. The video shows the autonomous vehicle passing a row of police cars and approaching a scene where officers had a suspect on the ground.
NBC journalist Liz Kreutz reported the story, noting that the incident has added to the growing number of questions surrounding autonomous vehicle safety in real-world, unpredictable environments.
DM News Commentary
Incidents like this are a major warning sign for the taxi and private hire sector — especially here in the UK, where councils and transport bodies are watching autonomous developments closely.
While AV companies often claim their technology can “see” and “interpret” the world better than humans, this footage shows the opposite: a driverless taxi calmly rolling into an area that any human driver would instantly recognise as off-limits.
For professional drivers, it raises several industry-wide questions:
- How would an autonomous taxi react in a crowded UK city centre where police scenes, road closures and emergencies are common?
- Who is responsible when a driverless vehicle disobeys police instructions — the operator, the manufacturer, or the software?
- And what happens when AVs mix with licensed taxis and PHVs who are required to follow strict safety and compliance rules?
It’s worth noting that in the UK, even minor non-compliance can get a human driver suspended by their licensing authority — yet autonomous companies are being allowed to test technology that is still making fundamental mistakes.
Many drivers fear that AV rollout is being pushed faster than regulators can keep up with, and events like the LA incident only add to concerns that the tech is not ready for busy, real-world environments.
For now, it serves as another reminder: AI cars may be advanced — but they are nowhere near as adaptable as the trained drivers already on our roads.
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