Waymo opened driverless rides in Denver, San Diego and Tampa, and Denver is its first commercial deployment in a city with real snowfall. Under EU rules an automated driving system’s weather envelope is part of a type-approved operational design domain, and the vehicle must perform a minimum risk manoeuvre when it reaches the boundary.
Waymo has opened driverless rides in Denver, San Diego and Tampa. Denver is the first of its cities with real snow, InsideEVs reported.
The gap is not marginal. Denver averages about 56 inches of snow a year, against under five in Nashville, the coldest Waymo city until now. The 30-year normal at Denver’s airport is lower, at 47 inches.
The company did not say whether the cars will drive in it. Vehicles are designed to come to a safe stop when conditions deteriorate, Waymo has said, like a motorcyclist sheltering under an overpass.
There is reason to think it is close. It has tested in Novi, Michigan and in Buffalo, and announced service for Detroit. A New York plan was blocked by local rules.
