The national media of course wants to produce content confirming the biases of people who are (in the back of their minds) anxious about the prospect of SDC but don’t have exposure to them. I have a lot of exposure to them - not as an employee though - and think Cruise, Waymo, and Zoox are all doing a great job at being cautious and respectful with their testing programs. Sure they do get stuck sometimes, but human drivers disrupt traffic too, and honestly SDC are already better at being safe drivers around pedestrians and other vehicles than humans IME. It’s just that they are so cautious sometimes they just stop and create situations like this.
Most people who haven’t been living with SDC for years like we have in SF want to hand wring about them based on articles like this, but the reality is quite different. You’ll note you don’t hear much about the cars injuring people or getting in accidents despite the appetite for negative SDC media coverage.
On top of that they have a bunch of electric scooters and electric skateboards and such.
If so, then the answer is "largely no".
Although I also haven't been to any major cities in the southeast, so can't speak to them, and I haven't done any studies, so my impression could very well be mistaken.
Big cities I've been to in Europe, though, tend to have a lot of pedestrians and bicyclists.
As to how many such incidents there were, it wasn't a lot. Quote from the article:
> Agency logs show 12 “driverless” reports from September 2022 through March 8, 2023
> Sideshows entail street stunts in which parties perform “doughnuts,” or high-speed circles, burn-outs and other risky maneuvers.
In the summer, I can hear side shows in Oakland, which are miles away. Because the night air is still and the particular acoustics of the terrain, I guess, it sounds like it is a few blocks away. I once laid in bed for almost an hour listening to it.
You will see weird speed bumps that form a circle that are designed just to stop people from doing these.
The only side-shows I have seen have been in Oakland and even further into the East Bay.
With that being said, I have witnessed Cruise cars lovingly tapping j-walking pedestrians and traffic abiding cyclists around the lower Haight. I have also seen self-driving cars block buses and the street car.
As for the Cruise cars, I believe they were still being trained so were not carrying passengers yet. They might have ironed out the kinks.
> I have witnessed Cruise cars lovingly tapping j-walking pedestrians
I live in the lower Haight as well and have never personally witnessed that, but don't doubt that it happens. The non-self driving cars here don't interact with the Wiggle super well either though.