A Los Angeles woman made a curious discovery when trying to put her daughter in a Waymo, which was a man hiding in the vehicle’s trunk, bringing up serious questions about how easy it is to just hop inside a Waymo and hide there.
As the self-driving robotaxi company Waymo expands to other cities like Los Angeles, it seems we are going to start seeing more viral videos of bizarre Waymo incidents coming from cities other than just San Francisco. And one video that just came out of LA is creating some uncomfortable questions for Waymo, as the Chronicle reports that a man was found hiding in the trunk of a Waymo on Monday afternoon in LA’s West Lake neighborhood, much to the surprise of the woman who hailed the vehicle.
Warning: The video below contains a great deal of profanity, though it may provide some amusement as well.
@luckythurman I ordered a Waymo for my daughter and a random was in the trunk. #viralvideo #fyp #waymo ♬ original sound - luckythurman
Part One of this strange affair is seen in the video above from TikTok user luckythurman, which has the caption “I ordered a Waymo for my daughter and a random was in the trunk.” It begins with a mother who had hailed the Waymo for her teen daughter, and is screaming at the stowaway, “Why the fuck are you in the trunk?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out!” the visibly nervous character replies. “This shit won’t let me out.”
“Why are you in it?” she responds, asking the very obvious question.
“They just put me in it,” he responds. When she asks who put him in there, he simply says, “The people,” before dissembling further.
@luckythurman You wanted more video. This was real life and not a skit. #waymo #viralvideo #fyp #pt2 ♬ original sound - luckythurman
In a second video seen above, the man has been removed from the trunk, and is being questioned and detained by LAPD officers. Meanwhile, it appears the teen daughter is being offered some sort of credit from Waymo customer service.
A somewhat embarrassed Waymo put out a statement about the matter.
"We're committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate,” the company said in their statement to LA’s KCBS. “This experience was unacceptable, and we are actively implementing changes to address this.”
This certainly brings up the question of… How easy is it to just hop inside a Waymo that you did not hail yourself? The concept of Waymo stowaways does not really make sense — a sane person would probably want to know where the robocar is taking them. But maybe the guy just needed a place to hide until some sort of heat blew over?
And wouldn't the trunk be locked except for a brief moment after a ride had concluded?
But if self-driving trucks are traveling long distances with a clear destination, then yes, maybe Waymo stowaways will be the new hitchhikers of the 21st Century. Because perhaps these robot vehicles might not realize whether or not there is a human being on board.
Image: San Bruno Police Department via Facebook
