Waymo began circulating in Miami this Thursday with its driverless taxis, which will initially travel through the city's emblematic neighborhoods, allow passengers to customize the experience in advance through the app, and establish the key rule of not touching the steering wheel. This is the sixth city to receive the autonomous vehicles of the Alphabet conglomerate, Google's parent company, and the first of the twenty to which it plans to expand its service this year, with the goal of surpassing 14 million trips made in 2025. The image of the empty driver's seat and the moving steering wheel is a feeling that skeptical passengers about safety can overcome quickly, as EFE was able to verify during a test of the vehicle in Little Havana. As the vehicle—a Jaguar I-PACE—advances at a good speed in the rain, activating the windshield, respecting traffic signals, and yielding to an emergency vehicle, more than hesitation about safety, the reasoning as a passenger is that the driver's seat is being wasted. Eventually, depending on government authorizations, there will be no need for a steering wheel, and one more passenger can ride, but for now it is 'very cool' to see the empty driver's seat, Mark Lewis, a Waymo spokesperson, told EFE during the trip. Regarding safety, he explained that it is guaranteed by a system composed of 29 cameras, five LiDAR sensors—which use laser light to measure distances and create a three-dimensional map of the environment—six radars, and four audio detectors. These components, he said, add to the experience accumulated after 'more than 127 million miles driven with passengers with no one at the wheel' in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. According to the company, compared to human drivers, Waymo has recorded thirteen times fewer accidents with injured pedestrians, ten times fewer with serious injuries, and five times fewer crashes with airbag deployments. In case of an accident, Miami authorities can take control of the vehicle, as they have been trained to do so, according to Lewis. He emphasized that the company also has global ambitions and plans to expand to more Spanish-speaking countries in the near future. According to the company, public adoption of autonomous vehicles has been gradual and positive, as passengers 'value' the comfort and high-end service, safety and privacy, as well as the absence of judgment.
