Look, mom, no hands!
Three kids turned a Waymo ride into a ride with the wind in their hair Friday afternoon in Santa Monica.
Local resident Rojia Shahsavani, who was outside around 6 p.m. running errands, said she saw three children, ranging from pre-teens to teenagers, taking selfies and sitting in the open windows of a white Waymo as the driverless vehicle traveled from Santa Monica to west Los Angeles.
“I ran into the Waymo one or two cars ahead of me in the left lane when I saw these kids start to get out of the car,” Shahsavani told The Times. “At first I didn't focus much on them because I thought they were just going to take a quick picture and get back to their car, which they didn't do.”
Shahsavani took several photographs of the incident, which was first reported by ABC7. He said he found the vehicle at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and 26th Street.
At first, it was just the two children in the back seat who sat on the window sill as it moved east, according to Shahsavani, who estimated the couple to be between 12 and 14 years old.
Then the youngest of the trio, the front seat passenger, who Shahsavani believed was over 10 years old, joined the duo and sat in the window that opened as the vehicle passed along Stewart Street.
That's when Shahsavani said he stopped next to the vehicle and tried to tell the children to “sit back down.”
However, the message was not received easily.
“They ignored me and one of them said he only spoke Italian,” he said. “You don't have to understand English to understand what he was saying.”
Shahsavani said he then decided to call Waymo customer service as the vehicle was crossing Bundy Drive, heading from Santa Monica toward west Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the children took selfies, while one appeared to be holding a red boat.
Shahsavani said she quickly contacted a Waymo agent, who told her the company had the ability to stop the car if it determined a threat. Shahsavani said Waymo told him multiple cameras could monitor the situation.
“We kept passing the intersections and the car kept going,” he said. “I kept waiting for Waymo to stop the car and they kept telling me, 'This is not the right place to stop the car.'”
A Times inquiry about Waymo's media relations was not answered. Lt. Lewis Gilmour, public information officer for Santa Monica police, said his department had not received any calls or reports about the incident. He said any witnesses should contact the department at (310) 458-8491.
Shahsavani said she became increasingly concerned as the speed limit increased along with the number of cars on the road.
“From Bundy [Drive] to Barrington [Avenue]”Everyone was going 30 to 35 miles an hour,” he said. “Then around Sepulveda [Boulevard]“Traffic increased and drivers went faster, and then the number of lanes opened to four.”
Shahsavani followed him until the Waymo turned right in the area of Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills, with the children still hanging out of the windows.
He said he was speaking out because many people could have been injured, including children, other drivers or bystanders.
“Listen, I'm all for technology and innovation, but I didn't think Waymo was that concerned about what was going on and the misuse of the automobile,” Shahsavani said. “As technology becomes more common, public safety has to evolve and catch up.”
