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by epolanski 24 days ago
> Someone had programmed the waymo to always be in the right lane on the highway.

That's how traffic laws work on highways in most of the world for safety reasons.

California vehicle code has similar indications, albeit going slower on the central or left lanes is not prohibited, and indicates that slower traffic should keep right, so it seems normal that a Waymo would try to keep right lane.
2 comments
gblargg 24 days ago
It shouldn't be crossing solid white lines as a matter of routine.
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SR2Z 24 days ago
It has to. Not every solid white line is sensibly painted, especially if it's on an old road.
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ThePowerOfFuet 24 days ago
In many parts of Europe, a solid white line is legally equivalent to a brick wall and absolutely must not be crossed.
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SR2Z 18 days ago
Yes, but Waymo doesn't run in Europe and it will probably take a decade of negotiations with local cabbies before they are allowed to drive there.

I would be SHOCKED if there was nowhere in Europe where painted road markings make navigation legally impossible. There are a lot of roads and not that many painters.

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SR2Z 24 days ago
The real problem is that Waymo has to drive the speed limit.

Human drivers move left if they're gonna be on the highway for a while so that they don't have to keep braking and accelerating for merging traffic.

They will speed a little bit if they have to, which means that it's common for all but the right lane to not be OK for a Waymo going the speed limit. Obviously this then leads to a subpar ride.

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