Although many tech startups have chosen San Francisco, California, as a testing ground for their products or services, and even have a higher level of acceptance of high technology than other regions, it is clear that the development of self-driving car technology has not successfully convinced local residents of San Francisco, and it is even difficult to convince the local government that this technology application is safer than human driving.
Although Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors' Cruise have been testing self-driving cars in downtown San Francisco, it is clear that the fatal accident involving an Uber self-driving car has deepened many people's distrust of the safety of the development and application of self-driving technology. Some even believe that the increasing number of self-driving cars in the city is a hindrance and are trying to influence the operational judgment of self-driving cars by placing orange traffic cones.
According to Jeffrey Tumlin, director of transportation at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, even though current autonomous driving technology has made significant progress and it is believed that this technology will be safer than human driving in the future, it is still difficult to convince the public that this technology is safe enough at this stage.
However, Cruise cited data showing that the increase in the number of self-driving cars is directly proportional to the decrease in collision accidents. It believes that if the government slows down the development of self-driving car technology, it will be difficult to improve traffic problems such as accidents caused by human driving. It believes that self-driving car applications can solve the current human driving accidents that are prone to misjudgment, fatigue driving, speeding, etc.
Currently, both Waymo and Cruise have been approved to test self-driving cars in downtown San Francisco, but only Cruise is allowed to provide paid ride services at night. During the rest of the time, it only accepts advance requests for ride experiences and cannot provide paid services.
Waymo and Cruise aim to quickly realize commercial applications for self-driving cars. Having already invested billions of dollars in early development, the two self-driving technology companies are eager to expedite their investment and recoup their costs. However, according to data released by the San Francisco government, the number of accidents involving self-driving cars, including those of Waymo and Cruise, has tripled, making it difficult to prove the safety of their technology. Therefore, the two companies are urged to provide further supporting data, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the public of this technological development.
The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to vote in August on whether to allow Cruise to expand its self-driving car operations in San Francisco. It will also decide whether to approve Cruise and Waymo to offer paid ride-hailing services. The original vote has already been postponed twice. The upcoming hearing will hear Waymo and Cruise's responses to safety concerns and determine whether to approve their applications.
