Driverless taxis may be on their way to San Diego, but even though the cars aren’t on the road yet, the controversy is already in the fast lane.
Most people don’t feel the same. AAA data has found that 6 in 10 U.S. drivers say they’re afraid to ride in a fully driverless vehicle.
"Never want to ride on one, in one, don’t think the technology is there yet," San Diego resident Karen Padilla says.
Waymo argues the technology is ready. On its website, the company says its rider-only vehicles have logged 96 million miles, and compared to human drivers over the same distance, have had 91% fewer crashes causing serious injury and 80% fewer crashes with any injuries.
But the controversy against these cars doesn’t just revolve around safety. San Diego Council member Sean Elo-Rivera is leading that conversation.
"Driving is a way that a lot of people are helping pay the bills with," Elo-Rivera says. "And so, anytime we are introducing something that can be disruptive to people's livelihoods, I think we should take a moment to ask ourselves what those impacts will be and how to mitigate them.”
Elo-Rivera is asking Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to give local cities the power to vote on whether companies like Waymo can operate in their communities.
"I think that as a community we should have some say when new technologies that have an impact on our lives," Elo-Rivera says. “I'm tired of multi-billion dollar global corporations extracting everyday people for every cent that we have with and not giving a damn about what impacts it has on us as individuals and us as a community.”
As technology keeps advancing and people worry about jobs being replaced Council member Elo-Rivera says local control is key to protecting workers in San Diego. But until they hear back from State leaders, they’ll have to wait.
