Waymo suspends freeway driving amid safety concerns
Waymo suspends freeway driving amid safety concerns
Waymo 因安全顾虑暂停高速公路自动驾驶服务
On Thursday, Waymo customers opened up the app and noticed something unusual: no more freeway service. Trips that would normally take a few minutes on the freeway were suddenly projected to last much longer via local roads. 周四，Waymo 的用户打开应用程序时发现了一件不同寻常的事：高速公路服务消失了。原本在高速公路上只需几分钟的行程，现在通过地方道路行驶，预计耗时大幅增加。
The company later confirmed that it had suspended freeway driving across all of its US markets over concerns about construction zones. It had also paused service in Atlanta and San Antonio over lingering issues regarding flooded roads. The news comes after several of the company’s robotaxis were spotted driving through flooded roads at elevated speeds in Texas, forcing Waymo to issue a software recall for its entire fleet. 该公司随后证实，出于对施工区域安全问题的担忧，已暂停其在美国所有市场的自动驾驶高速公路服务。同时，由于洪水道路带来的遗留问题，该公司也暂停了亚特兰大和圣安东尼奥的服务。此前，该公司多辆自动驾驶出租车被发现在德克萨斯州的积水路段高速行驶，迫使 Waymo 对其整个车队进行了软件召回。
The suspensions come as the Alphabet-owned company has sped aggressively into new markets with the goal of reaching 1 million paid rides a week. (It’s currently doing about 500,000 rides a week.) Waymo is also on the cusp of deploying a brand-new vehicle, the Zeekr-built Ojai electric van, that will debut the company’s sixth-generation autonomous driving software. 此次暂停服务正值这家 Alphabet 旗下的公司积极进军新市场之际，其目标是实现每周 100 万次的付费乘车量（目前约为每周 50 万次）。此外，Waymo 即将部署一款全新的车型——由极氪（Zeekr）制造的 Ojai 电动货车，该车型将首次搭载公司第六代自动驾驶软件。
The decision to suspend freeway driving was made over concerns about construction zones, Waymo spokesperson Chris Pappas said, adding that local road driving remains unaffected. Pappas didn’t clarify what kinds of problems Waymo’s vehicles were having with construction zones. Waymo 发言人克里斯·帕帕斯（Chris Pappas）表示，暂停高速公路驾驶的决定是出于对施工区域的担忧，并补充说地方道路的驾驶服务不受影响。帕帕斯并未明确说明 Waymo 的车辆在施工区域具体遇到了哪些问题。
“We are committed to being good neighbors for our riders and our communities,” Pappas said in a statement. “As part of that commitment, we make proactive decisions including temporarily pausing aspects of our service. We know riders count on us to get around, and we appreciate their patience as we work to get them where they’re going safely and reliably.” “我们致力于成为乘客和社区的好邻居，”帕帕斯在一份声明中表示。“作为这一承诺的一部分，我们会采取主动决策，包括暂时暂停部分服务。我们知道乘客依赖我们出行，感谢他们的耐心等待，我们将努力确保他们安全、可靠地到达目的地。”
Highway trips are important because they help reduce trip times and open up financially important routes, like to and from airports. Waymo has framed highway driving as a crucial ability as it seeks to scale its business and compete more aggressively with human-powered rideshare services like Uber and Lyft. At present, Waymo’s freeway trips were only available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami. 高速公路行程非常重要，因为它们有助于缩短行程时间，并开通往返机场等具有重要经济价值的路线。Waymo 将高速公路驾驶视为其扩大业务规模、与 Uber 和 Lyft 等人类驾驶网约车服务进行更激烈竞争的关键能力。目前，Waymo 的高速公路服务仅在旧金山、洛杉矶、凤凰城和迈阿密提供。
It’s the latest in a string of bad headlines for the robotaxi company, which despite its incredible progress in reducing traffic crashes and injuries, still suffers from frequent edge-case mishaps. Last week, a neighborhood in Atlanta was overwhelmed by empty Waymos that caused a traffic jam in a cul-de-sac. And a driver in Dallas caught a Waymo blazing through a red light at a busy intersection. 这是这家自动驾驶出租车公司近期遭遇的一系列负面新闻之一。尽管该公司在减少交通事故和伤亡方面取得了令人瞩目的进展，但仍频繁出现边缘情况下的事故。上周，亚特兰大一个社区被空载的 Waymo 车辆挤满，导致死胡同交通堵塞。此外，达拉斯的一名司机还拍到一辆 Waymo 在繁忙路口闯红灯。
Right now, there’s no word on when Waymo will return to highway driving, or resume service in Atlanta and San Antonio. 目前，尚无消息表明 Waymo 何时会恢复高速公路驾驶，或何时恢复亚特兰大和圣安东尼奥的服务。