In response to Waymo autonomous vehicles creating large-scale traffic gridlock in San Francisco, California over the Fourth of July weekend, Mayor Daniel Lurie is calling for stronger statewide regulation of the vehicles.
According to Lurie, current California regulations do not sufficiently address how Waymo and other robotaxi companies operate during major events. In one specific case during the city’s Fourth of July celebrations, a Waymo vehicle drove over a lit firework, where other passengers using the service were stuck in traffic for hours. The company’s vehicles have become ubiquitous across the city in the past few years.
Lurie’s proposed regulations would require that companies be able to promptly move robotaxis from active travel lanes during major events. They would also need to share operations in real time with local government agencies, and prove that their vehicles can handle spikes in traffic.
The California Teamsters union has previously seized on Waymo’s safety issues to call for suspending the service in the state. Lurie, by contrast, framed his suggestions as something that would strengthen robotaxi companies. Opposition to Waymo and other robotaxi companies has largely emanated from unions and San Francisco’s anti-tech Left, with mainline local Democrats like Lurie being supportive of autonomous vehicles.
The safety concerns elide the main issue with Waymo and similar companies, though. The vehicles will undoubtedly continue becoming increasingly safe with time and additional testing. The primary question, like any new technology, is what problem the vehicles are actually solving. Supporters of the self-driving cars lean heavily on how safe they are in comparison to human drivers, but driving, or taking a regular taxi, is not a high-risk activity. Further, a human driver would most likely have avoided driving over a lit firework, and is capable of making in-the-moment decisions in a way that Waymo cannot. The popularity of self-driving cars in San Francisco likely has more to do with people who enjoy avoiding any interaction, however minor, outside of their social circle, by gradually making taxi and Uber drivers obsolete.
As of late, San Francisco has attracted trendy voter opposition to Flock surveillance cameras, which have successfully combatted car break-ins in the city. Opposing Flock and surveillance cameras in general allows regular citizens to act as though they’re fighting The Man, whereas opposing other technology doesn’t have the same thrill. It would be wise for the public to support technology that actually solves problems, though, rather than inventions like Waymo that solely exist to make life slightly more convenient.
