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Mom Approved: Two Busy Parents Share Why They Think Autonomous Driving Could Help Families and Small Businesses

December 2, 2022

AZ Mom Squad

As the masterminds behind the AZ Mom Squad blog, sisters Megan Ghormly and Ashlyn Leyba have built a successful business sharing their stories and recommendations with a goal to empower moms and support small business.

“Any time we do something, we always ask if it is convenient for moms, is it making their life better, and is it going to actually be useful?” Megan says.

These questions were top of mind for Megan and Ashlyn when they caught a ride with Waymo One’s autonomously driven ride hailing service with their husbands and children ranging in age from 4 to 8 from the Chandler Mall to The Porch restaurant. 

Megan says the Waymo One ride expanded her quality family time.

“Honestly, it checked all my boxes,” Megan recounts. “Just being able to sit there with my kids and have a normal conversation with them without having to focus on the road was in and of itself pretty awesome.”

Ashlyn says she enjoyed having conversations without being distracted: “We could look at each other when we talked – that never happens.”

We could look at each other when we talked – that never happens.

- Ashlyn Leyba, AZ Mom Squad

Megan says she sees the potential for the technology to help other small business owners who spend a lot of time on the road get time back they otherwise would have spent driving to get work done.

“They are working on their laptops, they’re working on their phones constantly, creating content or creating ads, and it takes up so much time; people do not have time to drive everywhere,” Megan emphasizes. “This would be so beneficial.”

In addition to the perk of getting time back in their day, Megan and Ashlyn say their families simply enjoyed the experience of the ride.

“My daughter could not wait to push the button that said ‘start ride’, then it started and she screamed out the window she was so excited,” Ashlyn recalls, adding that one of the children nearly cried when the ride was over.

“It was the most comfortable, smooth ride ever,” Megan says, adding that the kids were in awe the entire time. “I was like, ‘Is it smoother than when mommy drives?’ and they were like, ‘Um, yeah.’”

I was like, ‘Is it smoother than when mommy drives?’ and they were like, ‘Um, yeah.’

- Megan Ghormly, AZ Mom Squad

Megan and Ashlyn say their husbands were impressed too.

“My husband was obsessed the whole time,” Ashlyn says.

“My husband didn’t know what to do with his hands,” Megan adds. 

She says she definitely noticed the quality of driving.

“[Waymo] made better decisions all around,” Megan says. “When it hit the speed bump, nobody came off their seats.”

Megan says she was impressed by one specific moment during the ride when Waymo came to a full stop when a car ahead pulled to the shoulder. Waymo then proceeded by carefully passing while giving the other vehicle plenty of space. “It was so cool how it sensed everything.” 

Waymo’s autonomously driven technology is designed to carry out the tasks of a conscientious and careful driver, letting people remain passengers. The technology is designed to follow road rules, differentiate other road users and features, and make safe driving decisions for all road users, from pedestrians to cyclists and other vehicles.

The sisters say they welcome the chance to ride with Waymo again sometime.

“The ride was amazing,” Megan says. “It was shockingly cool.”

Want to experience Waymo One for yourself? Download the Waymo One app and hail a ride in Phoenix.

The Next Place You’ll Go: Seniors Edition

Get ready for the next exciting journey in The Places You’ll Go series: Seniors Edition. Come back to discover what happened when a  group of young-at-heart Arizona seniors took a ride with Waymo One, and learn what they thought of their experience.