Waymo driverless cars cause noise disturbance in San Francisco parking lot
Waymo's driverless vehicles in a San Francisco parking lot repeatedly honked at each other due to a collision-avoidance feature that activated more frequently than expected in the crowded lot, disrupting sleep for nearby residents over a two-week period. Waymo updated the software after the disturbance was publicly documented.
What happened
In late July 2024, Waymo rented a parking lot near a residential building in San Francisco to idle its driverless vehicles when they were not in use or charging. The vehicles are programmed to honk when nearing other vehicles and then change directions, causing repeated honking in the crowded lot.
Residents reported intense noise from the vehicles, particularly around 2 a.m. when cars left and around 4:30 a.m. when they returned. One resident, Russell Pofsky, reported hearing honking "like every four seconds and continues and continues" and waking up in the middle of the night, while resident Sophia Tung documented the disturbance and streamed it online.
Reported impact
Residents in nearby apartment buildings experienced sleep disruption from the excessive honking, with some reporting being woken in the middle of the night regularly over a two-week period. Pofsky, who had lived in the building for 20 years, said he had never been woken as often as he was during this period.
Index analysis
Waymo's collision-avoidance honking feature operated more frequently than anticipated in the densely packed parking lot environment, where vehicles were in close proximity and constantly moving. The company stated it did not anticipate the feature would trigger so often in its own parking lots.
Governance controls
Waymo updated the software on Tuesday morning after the disturbance was publicly documented, stating that "our electric vehicles should keep the noise down for our neighbors moving forward."
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.