Waymo’s self-driving taxis get into a midnight honking war

Dozens of Waymo self-driving taxis gather in a parking lot in San Francisco’s South of Market district.

There are few things in life more frustrating than being woken up in the morning by the blaring of car horns. Yet for many residents of San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, this is their reality, and it’s all thanks to Waymo.

Not long ago, Waymo updated the software of the Jaguar I-Pace prototype that it is currently testing in San Francisco. The update prompts the vehicle to honk if other vehicles get too close when backing up. While this sounds like a good idea to avoid parking accidents, Waymo didn’t think of disabling the system in its own parking lots, where its self-driving taxis often gather to rest in the middle of the night.

Watch: Phoenix police hilariously stop a self-driving Waymo car driving the wrong way. Who’s going to pay?

A video shared on TikTok shows dozens of Waymo self-driving taxis parked in a parking lot near several San Francisco apartment buildings. The video, reportedly shot at 4 a.m., shows the vehicles hesitantly navigating the parking lot and honking repeatedly if they get too close. Occasionally, the honking starts later in the morning, but we’re sure it’s just as annoying for residents.

“At first we just honked a few times here and there, and then as more and more cars drove by, it just got worse and worse,” local resident Christopher Cherry told Business Insider. “It’s very distracting on a weekday, but most importantly it wakes you up at four in the morning.”

Fortunately for people who live near this parking lot, Waymo has addressed the issue and says its vehicles will be quieter while in motion.

“We recently launched a useful feature that honks the horn to help avoid low-speed collisions when other vehicles are backing up too close to us,” a spokesperson for the tech company said. “This feature worked well in cities, but we didn’t expect it to happen in our own parking lots. We have updated the software so that our electric vehicles should be quieter and keep our neighbors safe.”