Recently, San Francisco has become a testing ground for a new type of transportation: self-driving cars. Also called autonomous vehicles (AVs), these vehicles operate as taxis, with the one difference being that they have no human driver. The AV company Waymo was recently given approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to expand their driverless taxi services to a number of cities in the Bay Area, including Berkeley. AVs have the potential to be useful someday, but as it stands today, they pose a huge risk. More research and testing must be done before they can be widely available, and expansion should be stalled until this has happened. Ultimately, cities should be focusing on improving public transportation and decreasing reliance on cars rather than offering opportunities to AV companies.
AVs have the potential to be safer than vehicles with human drivers. They’re programmed to obey traffic laws and have sensors to prevent crashes. According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 94 percent of car accidents are caused by human error. AVs can avoid many mistakes human drivers make, such as being distracted or intoxicated. In one 2024 study, driverless cars were found to have a notably lower rate of accidents.
However, this isn’t the full picture. While AVs are better at some things, they’ve been found in one study from the University of Central Florida to have twice the accident rate of human drivers when making turns and five times the accident rate when driving at dawn and dusk. They may struggle to navigate dense traffic in big cities. Generally, AVs aren’t good at adapting to new or unusual driving conditions. A recent power outage in San Francisco caused problems for Waymo’s driverless taxis, many of which simply stopped in place and blocked traffic, with some even stopping in the middle of intersections.
There have also been incidents of safety measures failing, notably one in which a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet by a vehicle owned by the AV company Cruise, suffering serious injuries. Cruise was forced to recall their driverless taxis and began further testing to improve safety measures. Despite this, the fact remains that when needed, their previous safety measures failed miserably.
The fact that the vehicles were put in use with flawed or incomplete safety features is unacceptable. There have also been numerous reports of AVs blocking traffic, running through yellow emergency tape, and impeding emergency workers. Companies should never rush the process of implementing new technologies without extensive testing first. Safety is more important than innovation.
Ultimately, the debate over whether or not driverless cars should be a widespread reality overlooks the fact that our overreliance on cars is harmful. Any type of car, autonomous or otherwise, is dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists, and the environment. What cities need is better public transportation. The reason driverless taxis have become so popular, other than the sheer novelty, is partially because when people need a ride, public transportation isn’t always an option. The wait between Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trains is long enough that if you miss yours, you’re likely to be late, and buses can be wildly inconsistent. AVs are convenient but are not a solution to the lack of public transit.
AVs have advantages, but we can’t overlook the issues they come with. The current safety risks greatly outweigh the benefits. AVs should not be introduced to Berkeley or other cities without extensive testing and safety measures. Ultimately, improved public transit is a much better solution.