Thursday, 28 May 2026

Harlesden Says No to Waymo - read and sign the petition if you agree with the reasoned argument put forward

 


We petition the Mayor of London to:

• Implement an immediate moratorium on the expansion of the Waymo pilot until a transparent safety audit is completed.
• Publish a full log of all safety breaches, "near misses", and traffic violations involving autonomous vehicles in London to date.


Why is this important?

Over the last few weeks, American company WAYMO has been testing autonomous vehicles in Harlesden and across London. On 22 April, a WAYMO vehicle drove through a live police cordon on Harlesden High Street while officers were investigating a double stabbing.


We, the undersigned, call on the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) to immediately suspend the trial and roll out of Waymo autonomous vehicles on London’s streets. We further request a police investigation into near misses and other incidents where public safety was at risk. 


REASONS FOR THIS PETITION


The current rollout of Waymo autonomous vehicles (AVs) across London, and specifically within the Harlesden area, is proceeding without adequate democratic oversight or proven safety protocols for complex urban environments. Our concerns are based on the following:


1. Breach of Police Cordons: Footage has emerged of a Waymo vehicle in Harlesden breaching a live police line. Such actions constitute "wilful obstruction" of the police. If a driver of a regular vehicle had committed this act, they would likely be under investigation and could face criminal prosecution. We cannot allow a "two-tier" justice system where corporate AI is exempt from the laws that govern Londoners.


2. Unresolved Safety Risks: Autonomous vehicles are struggling to navigate the "edge cases" of London’s busy streets, including responding to emergency sirens, physical police barriers, and the unpredictable movements of pedestrians and cyclists in high-density areas like Harlesden.


3. Lack of Community Consent: Residents in Brent have not been adequately consulted on this trial. Public streets are being treated as a laboratory for unproven technology without a clear framework for liability when things go wrong.


4. Extra traffic on our roads: if Waymo or any other autonomous vehicles are allowed on the streets of London, that will lead to extra traffic on our roads. It will further compromise the Mayor of London's traffic reduction aims, led by Sadiq Khan, focus on reducing overall traffic volumes by 10-15% by 2041 and cutting car kilometres by 27% by 2030 to meet Net Zero and health targets. We need more accessible and affordable public transport, instead of more cars on our roads.


5. Vision Zero Compromise : The Mayor’s "Vision Zero" strategy aims to eliminate road danger. Introducing vehicles that fail to recognise and respect police cordons is a direct contradiction of this safety goal.
 
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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous28 May 2026 at 14:10

    "Harlesden Says No to Waymo" a bit presumptuous and cheeky for a petition with only 295 signatures a month after launching, more like Harlesden says Meh to Waymo. One of the recent signers is Charlie F who is probably Charlie Fernandes a Wembley Hill Green Party candidate, so how many of the 295 are just Green members and how many actually live in Harlesden? If the Greens want to be considered the party of integrity they ought to be a bit more honest about this petition. Waymo has already made it clear that the car that went through the police tape was being driven by a human at the time. Data from the incident shows that, had the car been in autonomous mode, it would have stopped. AVs have driven millions of miles and are on average safer than humans at the wheel getting us closer to The Mayor’s "Vision Zero" strategy. This petition should be relaunched with the Five Concerns rewritten, and it will need a new title when the results are published as the only thing Harlesden said No to lately was the idea of having three Green Councillors

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