An attempt to arrange a GTA in a robotax ended in an arrest

An unusual case happened in the American city of San Mateo, California. Two 15-year-olds tried to turn a ride in a self-driving Waymo taxi into something like a scene from a video game, but instead of “fun” they got a visit from the police.

Hooligan trip

The teenagers called the drone to commit hooligan acts: according to the young people’s plan, the car was supposed to be a base for trips around the city, during which they planned to drink alcohol and shoot passers-by with orbiz (water balloons) from toy guns. Criminals clearly underestimated the technological equipment of unmanned vehicles.

Security system and actions of operators

Although the taxi does not have a physical driver in the cab, Waymo’s monitoring system works in real time. The car’s cameras and sensors broadcast what’s happening inside the cabin for remote operators. Noticing the consumption of alcohol and the presence of a suspicious “weapon”, specialists put the car into special mode.

Under the pretext of technical problems, the operators convinced the teenagers that the car had to end the trip at the nearest parking lot. In fact, the “technical zone” turned out to be the meeting place with five police crews.

Summary of the trip and consequences for violators

In social networks, representatives of the San Mateo police ironically commented on the situation, confirming that they “extracted the subjects” directly from the car. The main “achievement” of the teenagers was recognized by the police that they did not get behind the wheel drunk (simply due to the lack of the wheel itself).

The offenders have now been released to their parents and the district attorney’s office is investigating the charges of underage drinking and endangering public safety due to toy gun activity.

Conclusions

This incident clearly demonstrates that attempts to use modern technological services for crimes are doomed to failure in advance. Any action inside the salon is recorded by AI and analyzed by people, and the consequences of such “adventures” inevitably lead to a visit by the police.