Two San Francisco juveniles are in hot water today after the self-driving Waymo vehicle they were in earlier this month called the police on them for having an illegal weapon. Passengers in many cities now hail these driverless, fully autonomous cars.
The vehicle detected a “violation of our terms of service involving a firearm.” Responding officers found the male and female juveniles in possession of a loaded AR-15-style rifle that they determined to be a “ghost gun,” along with “suspected marijuana and mace spray.”
It is not clear how the vehicle determined that the youths had an illegal weapon. Authorities did not identify the suspects because of their ages but took them to a juvenile facility.
Self-driving vehicles monitor passenger behavior–and possessions
This is not the first incident involving these self-driving vehicles, which are increasingly common in large metropolitan areas, and firearms.
In July, San Mateo Police Department officers responded to the company’s call about two teens consuming alcohol and shooting toy pistols in the back seat. There is no word on charges, but Waymo reportedly “faked having mechanical problems to pull over” by telling the 15-year-old passengers there was trouble.
The doors were never locked, according to San Mateo PD Spokesperson Jeanine Luna, and the teens could have exited and fled before law enforcement arrived.
Gun owners must be aware of company practices and methods
As these vehicles become ubiquitous in major cities, questions remain.
For example, the company that formed in 2009 and spun out of Google seven years later prohibits riders from carrying any kind of firearm, even if they are legally qualified to have one. The autonomous automobile uses interior cameras and support teams to check passengers and enforce this blanket ban.
If Waymo detects a violation, it stops itself and calls law enforcement to the scene.
Juveniles, of course, should never have a firearm of any kind without strict adult supervision–and certainly not by themselves in an autonomous car. But it’s quite a different question for adults, and the way these vehicles detect firearms of any sort through internal monitoring should be cause for concern.
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