Los Angeles Black Mayor Calls For Local Control Over Driverless Vehicles

Mayor Karen Bass has said Los Angeles (LA) should have the power to decide how robotaxi companies expand in the city.

Robotaxis – The Autonomous Car

A robotaxi, a self-driving or driverless taxi, is an autonomous vehicle (AV) operated by a ride-sharing company.

Last month, a Cruise vehicle – the leading AV company – struck a woman who was flung into its path by a hit-and-run driver.

The driverless Cruise vehicle ran over her, stopped briefly, and then proceeded to drag her for 20 feet while pulling over to the curb, causing her severe injuries.

The Department of Motor Vehicles did, however, pull the Cruise operator’s permit after investigating the incident.

Recently, Dr Jie Zhang from the Department of Informatics assessed eight AI-powered pedestrian detection systems used in autonomous vehicle research.

They found that through testing over 8,000 images through these pieces of software, detection accuracy was just over 7.5% for light-skinned pedestrians compared to their darker-skinned counterparts.

Mayor Karen Bass has now sent an open letter to the Public Utilities Commission, which regulates commercial robotaxi operations in California, arguing that LA should hold the ultimate authority surrounding expansion.

The letter follows Waymo’s – another AV company – plans to expand its operations in LA.

A Call For Ultimate Authority

Bass, in her letter, raised concerns about the decision to allow AVs to operate in LA without local regulation and a well-developed and collaborative deployment plan.

She claimed that, to date, local jurisdictions like LA have needed more input in AV deployment and are already seeing significant harm and disruption.

Bass said she aims to maximize the benefits of emerging tech and mitigate harm across diverse communities, and she wants the city to make that call.

“AV companies started testing in LA this month, and our traffic enforcement personnel have already experienced at least one incident where an AV could not properly identify or obey an officer who was directing traffic in an intersection where traffic signals were offline,” the letter wrote.

“More testing is needed to ensure operators can safely expand their service.”

Bass’ primary concern is the population of LA. With approximately four million people and 7,500 miles of roadways, the risk is exponentially greater, she states.

A Waymo spokesperson has now called on the LA city council to consider its track record separately from its competitors as LA lawmakers have primarily focused on reports involving Cruise AVs. 

Waymo spokesperson Christopher Bonelli said the company is “disappointed in the mayor’s decision to oppose the deployment of autonomous vehicles in LA.”

He added that Waymo does not believe the letter is an accurate representation of them and their experience.