San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has made his concerns about autonomous vehicles public.
Now, Lurie is urging the state to take action by adopting new safety requirements for autonomous vehicle companies.
This call to action follows traffic disruptions involving autonomous vehicles during the city’s Independence Day celebration, attended by over 100,000 people.
KPIX-TV reported that AVs in the city stalled in travel lanes during this time, with some running out of battery power.
Late last year, a power outage affecting traffic signals in San Francisco caused autonomous vehicles to stop at intersections and block major streets.
Other concerning incidents have been reported across California, Texas and Georgia, among others.
“Any measures to advance automated technology should be met with mandatory data transparency from AV companies,” the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wrote in a February letter sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “The potential introduction of AVs on the nation’s highways invites more questions than answers.”
Lurie has requested the following requirement be put in place for AVs in California:
- Prevent disabled vehicles from blocking travel lanes
- Adapt routes and services in real time during emergencies
- Share live operational data with city officials
- Demonstrate through testing that AVs can safely handle large public events
NHTSA recently made its demand that autonomous developers prioritize interactions with first responders clear.
“Over the past several months, NHTSA has identified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders,” the agency wrote in a letter to American AV companies. “The agency has documented multiple instances in which AVs drove directly into active emergency scenes, blocked the paths of ambulances and firefighters or failed to recognize and respond to basic safety conditions like flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire and traffic cones.”
NHTSA reminded autonomous companies receiving this letter that “public trust on the road is earned, not given.” LL
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