# Self driving car set ablaze by San Francisco crowd

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [February 12, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367 "2024-02-12T21:35:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/1 "2024-02-12T21:35:43Z")

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[https://www.fastcompany.com/91027651/waymo-self-driving-car-fire-vandalism-sf-crowd](https://www.fastcompany.com/91027651/waymo-self-driving-car-fire-vandalism-sf-crowd)

“A crowd vandalized and set fire to a Waymo self-driving car using a firework in San Francisco on Saturday, the Alphabet-owned company and authorities said, marking the most destructive attack so far on driverless vehicles in the U.S.”

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/2 "2024-02-12T22:09:58Z")

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Ignorance and no fear of any consequences…  
Let’s set stuff we don’t own on fire! … Idiots 🙄  
Another reason to avoid San Francisco.

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/3 "2024-02-12T22:13:47Z")

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One radio-news program speculated the reason was a rising concern among folks about the downsides of modern technology, loss of jobs, personal injury, etc.

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**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/4 "2024-02-12T22:47:11Z")

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Edited to remove original posting, it somehow got posted in under the wrong topic, mea culpa…

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**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/5 "2024-02-13T01:28:23Z")

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That is pure self entitlement, lack of respect for other peoples stuff with out any real consequences… That is about all I will/can say on this without it turning political…

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**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/6 "2024-02-13T15:58:05Z")

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> [@Mustangman](#):
>
> Another reason to avoid San Francisco.

Much broader than that. Vandalism can and does happen anywhere in the US.

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/7 "2024-02-13T16:11:53Z")

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> [@jtsanders](#):
>
> Vandalism can and does happen anywhere in the US.

There are cities and counties that have much less vandalism than San Francisco. And this is more than simple vandalism, this was a small riot.

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/8 "2024-02-13T16:54:50Z")

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> [@jtsanders](#):
>
> Much broader than that. Vandalism can and does happen anywhere in the US.

+1  
And, it also happens in other countries. Has everyone forgotten the phenomenon–in normally peaceful England–of people destroying 5G towers because they “spread Covid-19”?  
 ![:smack:](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/a/d/adab6e8ff6624929e4e2c00d93633a00292b57e4.gif)

Whether it pertains to self-driving cars, or vaccines, or vitually anything else of a modern nature, Luddites and others who are susceptible to belief in wacko conspiracy theories can–and do–vandalize the property of others.

> **[Covid: Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists guilty of 5G mast plot](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-65779639)**
>
> Darren Reynolds and Christine Grayson regarded the masts as "enemy infrastructure", court hears.

> **[How the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory went from fringe to mainstream](https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/24/21231085/coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory-covid-facebook-youtube)**
>
> Despite what the internet might be telling you, cellphones did not cause the Covid-19 pandemic.

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/9 "2024-02-13T17:31:17Z")

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Plus there are robotaxis running in Austin TX and Phoenix AZ and you don’t see people there vandalizing the taxis. There are autonomous trials running all over the US with none of these problems.

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**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/10 "2024-02-13T18:02:05Z")

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Classic Luddites.

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/11 "2024-02-13T18:46:40Z")

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> [@Mustangman](#):
>
> Plus there are robotaxis running in Austin TX and Phoenix AZ and you don’t see people there vandalizing the taxis

… yet…  
🤔

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/12 "2024-02-13T19:09:33Z")

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Both the Austin and Phoenix area have had them for 9 and 8 years respectively.

San Fran has not been operating as long. Took those high tech Luddites in Silicon Valley less time to act irresponsibly.

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**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/13 "2024-02-13T19:19:17Z")

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Public violence is nothing new. My marching band performed in several Mardi Gras parades in the late 1960s. Everyone was easy to get along with and very little violence. In 1970 Al Hirt was performing on a float and was hit in the mouth with a thrown brick. I went back in about 1975 and security was much tighter. I went back again in about 1980 and security was suffocating. Pickpockets, drugs, fights, it just want fun anymore. A friend and I were put in a detention area by the police because we stood on a corner too long. They eventually released us because we really were just waiting for another friend. The friend eventually drove by, picked us up and we were on our way.

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/14 "2024-02-13T19:56:12Z")

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It isn’t that there IS public violence, or vandalism, or homeless defecating on the sidewalks, illicit drug use on the streets and parks, and shoplifting, it is because there is SO MUCH of it in San Fran that it is destroying the city.

At one point I would have liked to visit the city. I don’t have that desire anymore.

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**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 12:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/15 "2024-02-15T00:32:34Z")

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I read an articles summarizing a study of the safest and most dangerous cities in the US. It uses FBI data to assess the cost of crime in large and small US cities. Since we are talking about the most dangerous, here’s a list from most to least dangerous of the 15 most dangerous.

Birmingham, AL  
New Orleans, LA  
St Louis, MO  
Detroit, MI  
Memphis, TN  
Baltimore, MD  
Little Rock, AR  
Cleveland, OH  
Milwaukee, WI  
Kansas City, MO  
Pueblo, CO  
Oakland, CA  
San Bernardino, CA  
Philadelphia, PA  
Atlanta, GA

San Francisco isn’t on the list of most dangerous, nor are they on the list of safest. What I really wanted to say above is that crime is rampant all over the US. Just today the Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City was interrupted by a shooting where at least one person is dead and 22 wounded (6 seriously), including children.

Here’s the cited article:

> **[Safest Cities In America 2024: Violent Crime Rate Increases Drive Per Capita...](https://www.moneygeek.com/living/safest-cities/)**
>
> How safe is your city, and how much is crime costing your community? Find out how your hometown stacks up in our analysis of crime statistics and costs.

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**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 1:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/16 "2024-02-15T01:21:10Z")

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The vandals were probably from over the bridge in Oakland, housing is too expensive in San Francisco for degenerates.

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/17 "2024-02-15T02:37:39Z")

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This report shows a different picture.

> **[San Francisco Crime Rates and Statistics - NeighborhoodScout](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/san-francisco/crime)**
>
> Most accurate 2021 crime rates for San Francisco, CA. Your chance of being a victim of violent crime in San Francisco is 1 in 148 and property crime is 1 in 17. Compare San Francisco crime data to other cities, states, and neighborhoods in the U.S....

Note on a 1 to 100 scale it ranks 1 for the total crime index. For property crime…vandalism would be part of that…it is 2.5 times greater than California as a whole. It means you have a 1 in 17 chance of being a victim.

Its still off my list

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**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/18 "2024-02-15T04:03:02Z")

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> [@jtsanders](#):
>
> I read an articles summarizing a study of the safest and most dangerous cities in the US.

Interesting point, if you enter the Best and Worse locations in the Best Neighborhoods Web Site,

[https://bestneighborhood.org/](https://bestneighborhood.org/)

You will find that the Worse Locations are generally Blue Leaning (More Liberal) and the Best Neighborhoods generally lean towards the Right (More Conservative)…

This web site shows the Politics, the Household Income, Rent Prices, Internet, and Much Much More. So if you are curious about the Demography and Geopolitics of any area, this is the place to go…

Inquiring Minds Want to Know, Sometimes you just want to snoop…

All Local Stats, Best Neighborhoods, Housing Data, Household Income, Per Capita Income, Rent Prices, Most Affordable Houses, Race, Demographics, Educational Achievement, Employment Rate, Politics, Home Services, TV and Internet, Fiber TV and Internet, Cable TV and Internet, Cellular Service, DSL Internet, Fixed Wireless Internet, Satellite TV & Internet, and even more…

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**Author:** ![Rainflurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cab0a1/32.png) [@Rainflurry](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rainflurry)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 12:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/19 "2024-02-15T12:38:00Z")

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> [@jtsanders](#):
>
> What I really wanted to say above is that crime is rampant all over the US.

I think we need to stop perpetuating this myth. Just because our phones inundate us with news stories about horrible things happening, that is not proof that crime is “rampant”. Both violent crime and property crime in the US has been on a downward trend for over 30 years. The violent crime rate in 2022 was **half** of what it was in 1990. The property crime rate dropped 61% from 1990 through 2022.

FBI statistics [here.](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/us-crime-rates-and-trends-analysis-fbi-crime-statistics)

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367/20 "2024-02-15T13:36:48Z")

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> [@Rainflurry](#):
>
> I think we need to stop perpetuating this myth. Just because our phones inundate us with news stories about horrible things happening, that is not proof that crime is “rampant”

+1  
The “news” media–of all stripes–seems to be intent on perpetuating this myth.

This brings to mind an old saying:  
_When in fear, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout._

[Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/self-driving-car-set-ablaze-by-san-francisco-crowd/194367.md?page=2)
