Latest news with #SouthbySouthwestConferenceandFestivals
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Waymo recalled 1,200 self-driving vehicles. How does this affect Austin?
Autonomous vehicle company Waymo has recalled 1,200 self-driving vehicles to update software after some were involved in minor collisions with chains, gates and other roadway barriers. In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Alphabet-owned company said its Safety Board decided to conduct a recall to update Waymo's fifth-generation automated driving system software, affected roughly 1,212 self-driving vehicles. But how does this affect Austin, Waymo's newest market? Waymo told the American-Statesman that the recall was submitted this week, but the software issue was resolved late last year. In November, Waymo updated approximately 1,200 vehicles operating with the fifth-generation Waymo Driver software. The company said the update significantly decreased the likelihood of these types of events. The recall, the company told the American-Statesman Wednesday evening, does not impact operations or any vehicles currently on the road, including in Austin. No vehicles will be replaced, the company said. U.S. auto safety investigators opened a probe into Waymo last year related to "unexpected behavior" of the company's self-driving cars. Waymo said in its filing with the NHTSA that it was aware of 16 collisions with chains, gates and other barriers between 2022 and late 2024. None of those collisions resulted in injuries and the majority were low speed collisions. None of those "relevant collisions" were in Austin, Waymo told the American-Statesman. 'Waymo provides more than 250,000 paid trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments in the U.S.," the company said Wednesday. "We hold ourselves to a high safety standard, and our record of reducing injuries over tens of millions of fully autonomous miles driven shows our technology is making roads safer. NHTSA plays a vital role in road safety, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the agency as part of our mission to be the world's most trusted driver.' Waymo currently has more than 1,500 vehicles on the road in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin. Uber and Waymo officially launched its autonomous vehicle service in Austin ahead of South by Southwest Conference and Festivals in March. Data from market research website YipitData showed that Austinites were embracing Waymos, with the site's analysis showing that autonomous rides in Austin were over 80% higher than those in San Francisco during its launch there. More: Latest data show Austinites are embracing Waymos; rival Tesla taxi just months from launch Autonomous vehicles have faced intense scrutiny in recent years. Waymo previously recalled 444 of its autonomous vehicles in February 2024 after two minor collisions in quick succession in Arizona. The company said a software error could cause the car to inaccurately predict the movement of a towed vehicle. After that, the company recalled 670 vehicles in June after one struck a wooden utility pole in Arizona a month prior. General Motors decided to shut down its Cruise robotaxi development, laying off almost half of the division's workforce, including its several of Cruise's top executives, were laid off earlier this year. GM's Cruise faced serious criticism after a San Francisco woman was seriously injured by a Cruise vehicle in 2023. self-driving unit Zoox recalled 270 of its driverless vehicles last week after one of the company's unoccupied robotaxis was involved in a crash with a passenger car in Las Vegas. No one was injured. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Does Waymo's recall affect Austin? Company says no.
New York Times
15-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Tim Walz Talks to Anxious Iowa Democrats as Post-Election Travels Pick Up
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, last year's Democratic nominee for vice president, took another step back onto the national political stage on Friday when he hosted a town hall in front of a friendly audience in Des Moines, the latest in a series of appearances outside his home state. During roughly an hour on the stage of a high school auditorium, Mr. Walz expressed sadness over Democrats' struggles with rural and working-class voters, blasted President Trump's cuts to the federal government and told the crowd that Democrats needed to rethink how they campaigned and governed. 'Millions of people stayed home because they didn't think there was any difference between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and myself on the ticket,' Mr. Walz said at the event, which was organized by the Iowa Democratic Party. 'We need to acknowledge that. I think one of the reasons is that when Democrats have been in power, we've been timid about passing things that make a difference.' The trip to Iowa was the latest sign that Mr. Walz, who was not widely known outside Minnesota before joining Ms. Harris's ticket, might be contemplating a run for the presidency in 2028. Mr. Walz spoke last week to a Democratic Party gathering in Montana and was scheduled to hold another town hall in Nebraska, the sorts of appearances that can foster good will among party leaders and help a potential candidate gauge the mood of the electorate. Future trips to Ohio and Wisconsin are in the works. Mr. Walz also spoke recently at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals and expressed openness to running for president in an interview with The New Yorker. That posture contrasts with the relatively low profile Mr. Walz kept in the first months after he and Ms. Harris lost every battleground state to Mr. Trump. Before Mr. Walz makes any decision about 2028, he must likely choose whether to seek a third term as governor of Minnesota next year. The Democratic field in Minnesota has been frozen as would-be candidates wait for Mr. Walz to decide. He has already ruled out running next year for the seat that Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat, will be leaving at the end of her term. During his visit on Friday to Iowa, a former swing state where Republicans have dominated in the last decade, Mr. Walz talked to voters who told him they worried about cuts to Medicaid and public schools, and that they feared democracy was at risk. When the moderator asked what the audience wanted Democratic leaders to know, several people offered phrases like 'fight' or 'fight back.' The high school where Mr. Walz spoke was situated in a heavily Democratic precinct of a closely divided congressional district where Democrats failed last year to unseat Representative Zach Nunn, the Republican incumbent. That district could again help determine control of Congress in the midterm elections. In interviews and in questions to the governor, several Iowans at Mr. Walz's event said they were deeply worried about the Trump administration's actions and in some cases concerned about their own livelihoods. Rachel Falahpour, 43, said she feared cuts to federal grants could harm her work for homelessness programs, and that she wanted elected Democrats to take a bolder stance against Mr. Trump's actions. 'I wish they were even louder,' she said. 'I know there's some that are just fighting tooth and nail and really calling stuff out — what's legal, what's not — but I feel like so much is having to get done in the courts.'
