SUICIDE BILL BECOMES LAW
REAL ESTATE SECTION
PAGE 13
PAGE 23
From Uptown to Downtown, covering Chandler like the sun.
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
Legacy Chandler family celebrates milestone.
BUSINESS ..................
39
Chandler salon owner realizes long-sought dream.
March 21, 2021
Waymo: we could have prevented Chandler fatals BY KEVIN REAGAN Arizonan Staff Writer
COMMUNITY ........... 31
FREE | chandlernews.com
W
aymo claims it has data proving its autonomous-driving vehicles could have prevented most of Chandler’s fatal collisions over the last decade. According to a study it released this month, Waymo said its researchers virtually reconstructed 72 deadly car crashes reported throughout Chandler since 2008 and conducted a simulation that inserted one of its vehicles into the scenarios. In simulations where the Waymo car re-
placed the vehicle that initiated the accident, the study found Waymo technology was able to avoid a collision every time. In scenarios where Waymo replaced the vehicle that was struck, 82 percent of the simulations avoided a collision and 10 percent resulted in an accident less severe than the actual one. The remaining simulations had similar outcomes to the real events. “These results demonstrate the potential of fully automated driving systems to improve traffic safety compared to the performance of the humans originally involved in the collisions,” the study states.
Chandler movie houses reel from pandemic, other woes
Although the study examined only Chandler accidents, Waymo’s findings could become a major contribution to the ongoing study of widespread autonomous technology on America’s roads. Waymo operates both driverless and driver-accompanied vehicles within a 50-mile radius of its downtown Chandler headquarters. The study also should tamp down any remaining distrust of its technology – which three years ago prompted some people to toss rocks at the vehicles.
�ee WAYMO page 6
High steppin'
BY KEVIN REAGAN Arizonan Staff Writer
SPORTS .......................
44
Young Chandler duffers thrive on the links. NEWS ....................................... 3 REAL ESTATE .........................23 COMMUNITY ....................... 31 BUSINESS ............................. 39 SPORTS ................................ 44 GET OUT ...............................45 CLASSIFIEDS ........................ 48
T
he pandemic has created hard times and an uncertain future for two of Chandler’s movie theaters. Slammed by the pandemic like many of its counterparts worldwide, Alamo Drafthouse Chandler and its sister venues in Gilbert and Tempe are in a dogfight in bankruptcy court over an attempt to break from the national theater franchise. Meanwhile, Flix Brewhouse – the dine-in movie house once heralded as an economic engine in downtown Chandler’s revival – remains closed amid social media reports that it is permanently closed and is looking to lease its space. The restaurant blog Mouth by Southwest reported that Flix Brewhouse’s parent called those reports inaccurate.
�ee ALAMO page 8
These Galveston Elementary students have new sneaks – and so do all their classmates – thanks to Hamilton High junior Sam Bregman. See why on page 3. (Pablo Robles/Arizonan Staff Photographer)
(480) 531-1000