Man Gets Arrested After Brake-Checking Self-Driving Van, Crash

Whether it’s self-driving or not, some people just shouldn’t be behind the wheel of a car. Raymond Tang was a former Waymo van operator, hired (and then fired) by contractor, Genesis10, which filled positions in Waymo’s Arizona fleet. And he’s been arrested on charges of intentionally causing one of the self-driving vans to crash.

Tang was arrested on suspicion of intentionally causing a crash with a Waymo test vehicle in the Phoenix area at the end of January. It’s reported that Tang was caught on video intentionally swerving in and out of a lane in front of a Waymo test van. He then eventually slammed on his brakes in front of it, causing a crash.

He was allegedly harassing not one, but two of the self-driving vans. Although there are autonomous capabilities, the Waymo vehicle involved was being driven by a human. The driver was taken to the hospital for injuries.

The driver with the second Waymo vehicle told police that Tang’s driving caused them to swerve out of their lane and brake multiple times to avoid crashing.

And he knew what he was doing. Tang admitted to police that he was “brake-checking the Waymo”.

Waymo has said that Tang was a “disgruntled former Genesis10 vehicle operator whose assignment with Waymo ended nearly a year ago when he failed to meet the high safety standards.” Since then, Waymo claims he has hassled other Waymo vehicles with his reckless driving.