Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
All the robotaxi companies claim that their safety is much better than obsolete human drivers. But are they really safer given that they seem to crash so often? This clearly needs to be investigated further.
Article from SF Standard on new laws on autonomous vehicles moving through California legislature. The newest proposed law is by Assemblymember Matt Haney and is for requiring additional data reporting from from autonomous vehicle companies.
Robotaxi disruptions for emergency responders have fallen significantly for the last 6 months. This is due to Cruise suspending operations, and because Waymo is now more careful to avoid geolocated incidences. Also, Waymo now gives emergency responders ability to manually move a vehicle.
While robotaxi companies continue to make false claims about how they are all about safety, an actual solution moves forward. California Senate Bill 961 by Senator Scott Wiener would require Intelligent Speed Assist in new California vehicles in 2027. This is a proven, equitable, and workable solution.
Article from Washington Post on how the first apparent Testa Full Self-Driving fatality was a Tesla employee who was a huge fan of the companies technology. Tragedy ensues.
A discussion between David Zipper and California State Senator Scott Wiener on new legislation to mandate speed regulators on new vehicles. Explains the details on why mandating this simple and already existing technology would greatly improve safety on our roads. Also covers rebuttals to common arguments used against making this safety improvement.
General Motors is slashing Cruise's 2024 budget by $1 billion despite a commitment to its robotaxi venture. Following an accident resulting in investigations, GM seeks to refocus Cruise, now enduring a $2.7 billion loss and restructuring. CEO Barra emphasizes safety and talent retention, as expansion plans are paused.
Detailed crash analysis (completed 1/23/2024, before Quinn report was made available): On 10/2/23 a pedestrian in San Francisco crossed 5th Street at Market Street in the crosswalk as the light turned red. The pedestrian was first hit by a human-driven vehicle, remained on the hood for a distance, and then fell into the adjacent lane. A Cruise robotaxi in the adjacent lane hit the pedestrian and stopped. The Cruise vehicle then proceeded another 20 feet, dragging the pedestrian underneath the vehicle. The pedestrian was severely injured by the Cruise robotaxi. Regulators shut down Cruise service for providing misinformation.
A truly informative and fun video on the complexities and problems of personal autonomous vehicles, with an emphasis on Tesla FSD.
Article in Bloomberg on Tesla’s large recall in China due to problems with “AutoPilot”.
There are several very useful sources of information on robotaxis from government agencies: San Francisco City DMV and CPUC NHTSA
Cruise publishes information about their safety practices on their website. It includes information on their safety research, testing, redundancy, and more. They also publish a lengthy safety report from November 2022. Documentation on their technology and its development is available as well. Plus the Cruise news blog contains everything from…
Article from NBC News by Bigad Shaban and Michael Bott. Covers how robotaxis do indeed sometimes violate traffic laws, but how in California they cannot be ticketed. Also covers safety in general.
Cruise has long maintained that their vehicles are much safer than human drivers. But this video from SafeStreetRebel shows them doing many illegal and quite dangerous maneuvers.
See full original article and more at DawnProject.com Tesla supporters frequently point to Euro New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP)’s tests of Tesla vehicles to claim that Tesla vehicles are far safer than other manufacturers, and that Tesla’s active safety systems protect those around them. Elon Musk himself has relied on Euro NCAP’s…
Article in Rolling Stone by Ed Niedermeyer. Covers how Tesla’s self-driving technology is inherently flawed.
