Trending

    Does trucking with ‘wintertime blues’ get you down

    February 3, 2023

    Fort Worth Police cruiser hit 3 separate times responding to an incident

    February 3, 2023

    Truck tech at Manifest, shipping alliances crack and the art of duty drawback – WTT

    February 3, 2023
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok
    Back The Truck UpBack The Truck Up
    Subscribe
    • Home
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • Shows
    • Pods
    • Home
    • Blog

      Does trucking with ‘wintertime blues’ get you down

      February 3, 2023

      Fort Worth Police cruiser hit 3 separate times responding to an incident

      February 3, 2023

      Truck tech at Manifest, shipping alliances crack and the art of duty drawback – WTT

      February 3, 2023

      Truck driver passes away after striking overpass pillar

      February 3, 2023

      Revoked: Nationwide ELD is the second device banned by FMCSA this week

      February 3, 2023
    • Videos

      Bombs, beans and coffee branding with military logistics – WTT

      January 30, 2023

      NASA’s sustainability takes flight; University of Arkansas supply chain students soar – WTT

      January 27, 2023

      Used truck bubbles, alliance breakups and the impact of layoffs – WTT

      January 25, 2023

      Cargo theft trends, freight scams and consumer weakness – WTT

      January 23, 2023

      Trucking markets, robot trucks and K-9 heroes – WTT

      January 20, 2023
    • Shows
      1. WHAT THE TRUCK?!?
      2. America On 18 Wheels
      3. Get Loaded
      4. Back The Truck Up
      5. View All

      Truck tech at Manifest, shipping alliances crack and the art of duty drawback – WTT

      February 3, 2023

      Bombs, beans and coffee branding with military logistics – WTT

      January 30, 2023

      NASA’s sustainability takes flight; University of Arkansas supply chain students soar – WTT

      January 27, 2023

      Used truck bubbles, alliance breakups and the impact of layoffs – WTT

      January 25, 2023

      The Future Of Supply Chain Part 3: Driving On Demand – A18W

      May 26, 2022

      FOSC22 Part 2: The Philanthropic Side Of The Road – A18W

      May 19, 2022

      The Future Of Supply Chain Part 1: Friends Old And New – America on 18 Wheels

      May 12, 2022

      Convoy and Starlight Transportation: Together For the Long Haul

      April 14, 2022

      Get Loaded in Indianapolis w/The Dude

      August 12, 2022

      Cinci has loads and rates!

      August 5, 2022

      Charleston, SC has freight and does NOT suck

      July 29, 2022

      Get Loaded in Seattle?

      July 22, 2022

      Building a social media empire for a truck parts empire – Joshua Grozdz from TruckPartsInventory

      February 1, 2023

      Simple Livin, out on the road

      January 25, 2023

      All hail the Word of GO(r)D!

      January 18, 2023

      When great minds think alike and fight human trafficking – CVSA/Truckers Against Trafficking

      January 11, 2023

      Truck tech at Manifest, shipping alliances crack and the art of duty drawback – WTT

      February 3, 2023

      Building a social media empire for a truck parts empire – Joshua Grozdz from TruckPartsInventory

      February 1, 2023

      Bombs, beans and coffee branding with military logistics – WTT

      January 30, 2023

      NASA’s sustainability takes flight; University of Arkansas supply chain students soar – WTT

      January 27, 2023
    • Pods
    • Home
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • Shows
    • Pods
    Back The Truck UpBack The Truck Up
    • Home
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • Shows
    • Pods
    Home » Blog » Looking back into Waymo’s DFW incident
    FreightTech

    Looking back into Waymo’s DFW incident

    A hit-and-run that the self-driving company doesn’t want to talk about
    RoosterBy RoosterJuly 5, 2022No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr VKontakte WhatsApp Email
    Waymo Via
    Tech Crunch posted an interesting article about the Waymo Via that was sideswiped back in May. "Silence is Golden?" - Image: Jim Allen | FreightWaves
    Share
    Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email

    A couple of months ago, one of Waymo’s modified Peterbilt “self-driving” trucks was the victim in a “hit and run” caused by another tractor-trailer. “Normally” the first thing a driver wants to do in this situation is gather all the details possible, get that incident report, and go after the other truck’s insurance for repairs. But a new TechCrunch.com article caught my attention, and someone didn’t want to talk.

    Texas, capital of autonomous trucking

    On the afternoon of May 5, a Waymo-equipped Class 8 truck was headed northbound on I-45 outside Ennis, Texas. It was pulling a trailer with a test load to simulate actual behavior.  At 3:11 p.m., another truck began to overtake the Peterbilt and started to merge back into the right lane. 

    The Waymo Via was in autonomous mode with its safety operator and software engineer when the other truck struck it. It forced the Waymo truck off the road and into the unpaved median. The safety driver, in an NHTSA report submitted by Waymo, reportedly suffered “moderate” injuries. The other truck, later discovered to be owned by Helwig, drove off without stopping. 

    Image: Jim Allen | FreightWaves
    Image: Ennis Police Department
    The before and after of the damage from the hit and run

    The wall of silence from Waymo

    Whenever a very expensive piece of equipment, especially one with a ton of gadgets and gizmos strapped to it, is damaged, the first thing one should do is get an incident report and insurance information. Well, the officer compiling said report met some rather unusual behavior on Waymo’s part.

    Ennis Police Department Detective Paul Asby was assigned to the hit-and-run case. Usually, the victim is more than happy to be available and to answer questions. And usually the offender is tight-lipped and says the bare minimum. This time, it was backwards. And even TechCrunch had trouble getting the details for its story.

    Using camera footage from the onboard data recorder, Detective Asby was able to identify Helwig Trucking as the carrier involved in the incident. Helwig, although they did not want to talk to the press, answered all questions and gave details about the truck in question. 

    However, Waymo, it seems, is a bit on the “minimum information needed” in their responses, if the company gave them. Detective Asby had a hard time tracking down information, since the numbers given to police when the truck was towed were not working.

    “I was going to speak to the driver because she was taken to the hospital. I’ve tried to contact her cell phone and it says it’s not a valid number. The same thing for the passenger who was in there with her.”

    Detective Paul Asby, Ennis Police Department to Tech Crunch

    Detective Asby’s attempts to contact Waymo also went unanswered. Waymo told TechCrunch that it was unaware of Asby’s attempts to talk to company officials, and it did not need to talk to the police. The case was inactivated, with details in the file if either side wanted them. 

    One thing to say, the Waymo Via kept upright. That much digging usually means it on it’s side – Image: Ennis Police Department

    Was someone not paying attention at the wheel?

    Even if it is an automated truck, the safety driver should have been paying attention to the situation. So why didn’t she, as an “autonomous vehicle specialist” with supposedly 10 years of experience as a truck driver, take over control? A simple tap on the brakes would have been enough to dodge a hit on the cab like that. 

    I’ve never seen a Waymo Via up close, and have never been behind the wheel of an automated truck. But it’s a Class 8 truck, with supposedly similar controls to the ones I have driven. Shouldn’t it be as easy as turning off cruise control and making the necessary adjustments? 

    Hopefully the FMCSA/NHTSA investigation will shed more details on the incident than the parties involved. We need to make sure incidents like this are as few and far between as possible.


    Read more by Rooster and follow me here!

    Sign up for the Back The Truck Up Newsletter!

    Listen to the Back The Truck Up Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

    autonomous trucks Ennis Texas Via Waymo
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleThe Impacts of AB5
    Next Article Get ready for the 42nd Walcott Truckers Jamboree!
    Rooster
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn

    Rooster is a 15 year trucking veteran, farm boy, writer, and adventurer. I bring a mix of absolute chaos and down to Earth reasoning to the table. Known to be a little eccentric and have a dire need to get his point across. Beware of flying "Giga-Chugs" and lab coats!!!

    Related Posts

    Wife hangs up on truck driver after he gets struck by lightning 

    January 31, 2023

    SHIP IT Act is 118th Congress’s first attempt to take action on rejuvenating the trucking industry

    January 26, 2023

    Texas man gets the munchies and steals a truckload of Ruffles chips

    January 13, 2023

    You can track me for just a mere $200.00

    December 14, 2022
    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    © 2023 Back The Truck Up.
    • Home
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • Shows
    • Topics

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.