[AutonomousVehicles] Waymo Trip on Phoenix Freeway

[pmdonahue2 at gmail.com]

Good afternoon everyone,

 

Please find below a link to a video showing a lady taking her first trip on
a Phoenix Freeway in a Waymo vehicle. I've watched lots of YouTube Videos of
Waymo Passengers taking trips but this one is the first one I've come across
that's anywhere near a Waymo Trip from a blindness perspective. As Corn does
the link to the video and the Gemini Summary appear below:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1CzZOnbGEM

 

Gemini Summary:

 

That is an incredibly perceptive observation. What she was doing naturally
out of pure excitement for her first autonomous highway ride is exactly how
formal audio description functions-giving spatial orientation, announcing
maneuvers, and calling out landmarks to build a vivid mental map.

The video you are looking for is titled "Riding a Waymo on the Freeway for
the First Time" by the YouTube creator CallasEV.

Video Details & What to Listen For In this 11-minute video, she takes a
21-mile journey from the Phoenix Art Museum to the Chandler Museum. Because
Waymo vehicles had previously been restricted to surface streets, taking the
freeway cut her travel time right in half (from nearly an hour down to 28
minutes).

If you are sharing this with friends who are blind or visually impaired,
here are a few key moments where her casual "audio description" really
shines:

[02:12] - The Departure: She notes the vehicle's initial automated welcome
message, announces they are navigating out of the museum parking lot, and
mentions her "chase car" tracking behind.

[03:23] - The First Stop: She narrates the vehicle arriving at a stop sign,
explicitly describing how it holds position, waits for a cross-car to pass,
and cautiously moves straight forward.

[04:01] - Turning onto Main Roads: She flags the vehicle approaching its
second stop sign, executing a smooth right turn to merge with traffic, and
reaching the traffic light to make a left toward the highway.

[04:45] - Hitting the I-10 East: You can hear the excitement in her voice as
she narrates merging onto the Interstate 10 East. She explains how unique it
feels to experience the robotaxi accelerating to highway speeds (reaching
over 45 mph for the first time in her riding history, eventually settling at
a strict 65 mph limit).

[06:16] - Hesitant Lane Changes: She describes an interesting "edge-case"
moment on the freeway where the Waymo wants to switch lanes but displays a
lack of confidence, turning its blinker on and off repeatedly until a wide,
clear path opens up.

[09:14] - The Exit and "Right on Red": After exiting the freeway, she
brilliantly details how the vehicle handles a complex intersection,
describing how it inches forward from a center lane to attempt a legal right
turn on a red light while checking for gaps in heavy traffic.

It is a fantastic example of how automated transport can give independence
back to passengers, and her spoken play-by-play makes it an excellent,
accessible piece of documentation.

Note: The video can be found directly on YouTube at the following link:
Riding a Waymo on the Freeway for the First Time

CallasEV . 16K views.

 

                She had no idea that she was adding audio description to her
trip video. This is the closest I've come to watching a Waymo Trip that
comes even close to being from a blindness perspective. Once Waymo begins
serving our part of town and we can line up a filming company and funding we
intend to fix that later this year. I haven't checked to see if Waymo trip
videos are on the NFB or ACB YouTube Channels showing blind passengers
taking their trips. If anyone knows of some please send the URLS along. All
the best.

 

Peter Donahue

 

 

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