SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) — Residents in Santa Monica are calling on Waymo to cut down the noise at one of its charging stations.
A resident who lives next to the new Waymo station near Euclid Street and Broadway recently created an online petition, saying the constant “beep beep” sound as the autonomous vehicles back out of their spaces is “an incessant disturbance.”
As of Monday afternoon, the change.org petition has gotten 85 signatures.
Waymo, which is known for its self-driving ride-hail service, says the noise meets local standards and sound-buffering vegetation has been added to the area, but some people say that’s not enough.
Meanwhile, the city says its hands are tied due to federal regulations on autonomous vehicles.
Some residents living near Waymo stations in San Francisco had similar complaints.
Last year, a man told our sister station KGO-TV that a parking lot outside his condo is full of driverless Waymo cars that sometimes become confused and start honking at each other.
Other people said the honking incidents have happened at random times, during the day and night.
Waymo told KGO-TV that they were aware that in some cases, the vehicles may briefly honk while navigating the parking lots. The company said it had “identified the cause” and worked to implement a fix.
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