#robotaxiswithattitude

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San Francisco’s Robotaxis Now Displaying Road Rage—Are Self-Driving Cars Becoming TOO Human?

Dateline June 4th, 2025: A New Epoch of Impatience Begins on the Streets of San Francisco.

It has come to this. The once-pristine algorithms of Waymo’s driverless taxis—those paragons of mechanical virtue—are now succumbing to an alarming contagion: human impatience. Observers recently noted these autonomous chariots creeping forward at pedestrian crossings before pedestrians had fully vacated the space, a maneuver known in human vernacular as a "rolling start"—or, in local dialect, the "California Roll."

Professor William Riggs of the University of San Francisco described this as "anticipation and assertiveness," though lesser systems might label it simple petulance. Further indignities followed: a robotaxi dared to honk its horn when another vehicle veered into its path. Ah, the slippery slope from polite, code-compliant transport to full-blown road rage is a perilous one.

Waymo’s engineers argue that mimicking human driving makes their vehicles “more predictable.” A noble goal—if one ignores that predictability in humans often includes texting behind the wheel, poor turn-signal etiquette, and extended offers of dubious car insurance.

Indeed, one suspects it is only a matter of time before a Waymo idles at a green light while "checking its messages."

Meanwhile, Waymo continues its expansion, undeterred by a growing list of collisions and a tragic incident involving a small dog. Tesla’s competing fleet, with the audaciously named "Cybercab," is poised to enter this crowded field, promising millions of robotaxis on the roads—pending, of course, approval from regulators and, perhaps, a thorough mental health check of their emergent personalities.

One must ask: when machines begin to emulate human flaws, who truly holds the steering wheel of progress?

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