Self-Driving Google Cars Wake Up London Residents In Middle Of Night

Residents in a quiet corner of East London are up in arms over a new high-tech nuisance: self-driving cars that keep getting stuck in their narrow street and waking them up with loud alarms, according to the British newspaper The Times. The vehicles are owned by Waymo, a company under Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google. While these cars are designed to drive themselves using sensors and cameras, they have recently been struggling to navigate a small, dead-end road called Elder Street in the Shoreditch area.

According to The Times, Elder Street is a "cul-de-sac," which is a British term for a street that is closed at one end. In this case, a metal barrier blocks the way to prevent through-traffic. While local drivers know to avoid it, the Waymo cars have been repeatedly driving down the cobbled street only to find themselves trapped at the barrier. Because the street is too narrow to turn around easily, the cars are forced to reverse all the way back out. During this process, the vehicles emit a piercing, siren-like alarm that residents say is louder than any standard car horn.

"It's my first day"

The situation reached a breaking point when Jenny Black, a local resident, confronted one of the drivers. Although the cars are "autonomous," British law currently requires a human safety driver to sit behind the wheel during the testing phase.
When Ms Black asked the driver why he had ignored the "no-through road" signs, the driver reportedly replied that he had to let the car drive itself so he could correct it when it made a mistake. When she pointed out the car had already failed the test, he simply said it was his "first day" on the job.

Residents Left Frustrated

The noise has become a major issue because many homes in this historic "conservation area" are not allowed to have modern double-glazed windows. This means the sound of the reversing alarm at 4:00 am goes straight through the walls, waking up families and young children. One resident, Chris Lloyd, shared videos of the cars slowly backing out of the street while the alarm blared. He questioned why the cars needed to drive all the way to the end of the street when the barrier is clearly visible from the entrance.

Waymo Responds

Waymo began testing its fleet of white Jaguar SUVs in London this April. The company aims to have its technology ready for the UK market later this year when new government regulations are expected to pass. Following the wave of complaints from the neighborhood, Waymo issued a statement saying, "As we prepare for fully autonomous operations in London, we want to validate our technology on roads across the city. However, we've now limited vehicles' ability to drive on this street in response to feedback."