Waymo’s driverless taxis are driving some Santa Monica residents crazy.
People who live near two 24/7 Waymo charging stations on Broadway say the alarm noises emanating from the autonomous cars at all hours are keeping them up at night.
“The main problem I hear people talking about is that at night there is a beeping noise that can drive a person crazy, and it's the cars backing up as they leave the lot,” Nancy, who’s lived in a nearby apartment for 40 years, told KNX News’ Pete Demetriou. “We've tried to address this with them, and they say they're working on it, but so far nothing has happened.”
Nancy added that the light from the lots is a problem at night, especially for people who don’t have blackout curtains on their windows.
“It looks like a Las Vegas show here,” she said.
The city of Santa Monica determined that the sound doesn’t violate noise standards and told residents to file complaints to the California Public Utilities Commission or the DMV.
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Waymo representatives said they’re taking steps to minimize the sound, including by planting vegetation to muffle any noise.
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