Human drivers perform the three-point turns that turn the vehicles around at the end of the route each time.

Judge as of 2019-08-20. The claim concerns the autonomous shuttle or vehicle service Brooks was describing (identify it from context, likely a low-speed autonomous shuttle route). True: reports show that human operators or safety drivers manually perform the turnaround manoeuvre (a three-point turn or equivalent) at the end of the route each time. Mostly true: humans manually turn the vehicles at the route end, but the manoeuvre is not strictly a three-point turn, or humans do it in most cases rather than literally every time. Mixed: humans turn them around sometimes, and the vehicles do it autonomously at other times. Mostly false: the vehicles mostly turn themselves autonomously, with only occasional human intervention. False: the evidence shows the vehicles turn around autonomously with no human driving.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Joint News Release by MOT, SDC and ST Engineering: First On-Demand Autonomous Shuttle Trial Opens to Public Ministry of Transport Singapore (joint release with SDC and ST Engineering) · 20 August 2019

   “On board every AV is a safety driver who is trained to take over immediate control of the vehicle should the need arise.”

2. E2 Low-Speed Collision Between Truck-Tractor and Autonomous Shuttle, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 8, 2017 National Transportation Safety Board · 8 July 2019

   “The route was planned to minimize safety concerns by, for example, limiting the shuttle to right turns, which reduced potential conflicts with oncoming traffic.”

3. E3 [PDF] Final Report - Utah Transit Authority Utah Transit Authority / UDOT (final report, prepared with WSP)

   “but the complexity of the environment, including temporary construction activities, cars sticking out too far from their parking spot, crowded streets, and high pedestrian volumes, still required frequent manual disengagements.”

4. E4 [PDF] Final Report - Utah Transit Authority Utah Transit Authority / UDOT (final report, prepared with WSP)

   “Per this legislation, a special permit for automated driving systems was not required, and the shuttle could operate on Utah roads with or without a human driver.”

5. E5 Low-Speed Collision Between Truck-Tractor and Autonomous Shuttle, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 8, 2017 (Highway Accident Brief) National Transportation Safety Board

   “was on a 0.6-mile designated loop beginning and ending at a downtown shopping center known as Container Park”

6. E6 Low-Speed Collision Between Truck-Tractor and Autonomous Shuttle, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 8, 2017 (Highway Accident Brief) National Transportation Safety Board

   “The shuttle followed one of its two designated routes (figure 2), both of which incorporated only right turns.”

7. E7 Utah Autonomous Shuttle Pilot Final Report Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and partners

   “It does not have a steering wheel or pedals but is equipped with a wireless handheld control unit that staff can use if necessary.”

8. E8 Utah Autonomous Shuttle Pilot Final Report Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and partners

   “still required frequent manual disengagements.”

9. E9 ‘Self-driving’ vehicles may need human help for a while yet - The Boston Globe The Boston Globe · 18 August 2019

   “When the vehicle arrived at the dock, the driver took full control of the vehicle and executed a three-point turn to orient it properly for the return trip.”

10. E10 ‘Self-driving’ vehicles may need human help for a while yet - The Boston Globe The Boston Globe · 18 August 2019

    “On my ride, the first thing I noticed was that the driver was triggering the turn signals.”

The route in question appears to be the shuttle described in a Boston Globe report published two days before Brooks's post. A Boston Globe report published two days before Brooks's post said that when the vehicle arrived at the dock, the driver took full control and made a three-point turn to orient it for the return trip (E9). The same article says the driver was triggering the turn signals (E10). This independent report confirms that a human performed the turnaround, but it describes only one ride, so it does not show this happened every time.