High-tech meets everyday life - and loses: When self-driving cars become a real burden

Beeping instead of sleeping: when future technology gets on your nerves

They are supposed to revolutionize traffic - but in Santa Monica, Waymo's self-driving cabs are causing one thing in particular: sleepless nights. Residents are constantly annoyed by the piercing beeps that sound every night when the vehicles reverse into their depot.

The reason: a safety regulation from California stipulates that autonomous cars must emit an acoustic warning signal when reversing. Well meant - badly done. Because at Waymo, this regulation becomes a permanent sound system that infuriates the neighborhood. "It's one of the most annoying noises you can imagine," complains one resident. And what do people do when politicians and companies ignore them? They fight back.

Traffic cones as a weapon of protest - that's "coning"

Meanwhile, local residents are resorting to unusual means. They are deliberately blocking the Waymo vehicles' routes with traffic cones - a tactic known as "coning" and popularized by activists from the San Francisco-based group Safe Street Rebel.

Others even get in the way personally or park their own cars strategically so that the robot cars can't get any further. The message: if you ignore the needs of the neighborhood, you will encounter resistance - analog, creative and increasingly angry.

The case of Waymo competitor Cruise, whose operating license was revoked in California after similar protests, shows that these actions can have an impact.

Waymo responds with lawsuits instead of solutions

Waymo, on the other hand, is going on the offensive - albeit legally: the company has tried several times to silence protesters with injunctions. So far without success.

Technical problems also undermine trust: Vehicles block each other, honk their horns for hours or let their passengers get out in dangerous places - or not at all. One woman reported that her autonomous cab suddenly stopped on a highway and did not let her get out.

The reaction from politicians and authorities? Nothing. While citizens try to help themselves with traffic cones and protests, legal hurdles for the car companies are regularly lowered.

It's not just sheet metal that crashes here, but also trust

It is frightening to see how high-tech companies like Waymo are almost blindly promoted by politicians and authorities - while legitimate concerns of local residents are consistently ignored.

Disturbance of the peace, security risks, technical failures: these are not collateral damage, but clear warning signals. Instead of responding to criticism with lawsuits, Waymo should update its software - and its social responsibility at the same time.

If progress means that people no longer dare to sleep at night, something is going very wrong. Future technology must not be an end in itself - otherwise the dream of autonomous driving will quickly turn into a technical nightmare.