--- title: "Road-Raging Humans are Bullying Uber’s Self-Driving Cars" description: "Uber exec Eric Meyhofer said that the company has \"seen people bully [Uber's self-driving] cars,\" including aggressive behavior and shouted obscenities." date: "2019-06-13" modified: "2019-06-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/uber-self-driving-cars-bullying" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" tags: - "Self-driving cars" - "the digest" - "Uber" - "waymo" --- # Road-Raging Humans are Bullying Uber’s Self-Driving Cars ![Uber exec Eric Meyhofer said that the company has "seen people bully \[Uber's self-driving\] cars," including aggressive behavior and shouted obscenities.]() *\Image: Uber/Victor Tangermann\* ## Autonomous Target Bullies really have it out for self-driving cars. Head of the Uber's Advanced Technologies Group Eric Meyhofer said that the company has "seen people bully \[Uber's self-driving\] cars. They feel like they can be more aggressive because we won’t take a position on it, or we’ll allow it," [he told the press]() at Uber's Elevate conference in Washington DC. Both pedestrians and drivers have been giving cars the finger, shouting at them, tailgating them, and even cutting them off on the road?, Meyhofer said. "You’re on video, but still people do bully them and that’s a fascinating thing to see where people are testing the boundaries of what they can do to self-driving," said Meyhofer at the event. ## Lukewarm Welcome It's not the first time self-driving cars have been under attack by rude passersby. Alphabet-owned Waymo vans have been harassed in the past, including an incident last year in which a man [pulled a handgun]() on a Waymo safety driver in Phoenix, Arizona. A major question remains: why? "A lot of people are concerned that technology is going to run them out of a job," IT lecturer at Arizona State University Phil Simon [told *Arizona Central*]() last November. Uber's self-driving program is about to resume in December after being put on hold as a result of a [fatal crash]() last March. **READ MORE:** [Uber self-driving cars 'bullied' by drivers and pedestrians]() \[*The Telegraph*\] **More on bullying self-driving cars:** *[People Are Road Raging At Waymo's Self-Driving Cars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()