Beloved cat’s death proves risks remain with driverless cars

To the editor: The current article a couple of Waymo automobile killing a beloved neighborhood cat made me actually unhappy and anxious (“Waymo killed KitKat. California neighborhood mourns a corner-store cat,” Nov. 3).

As a youngster, I fear that driverless vehicles may trigger extra hurt than good if errors proceed to be made. For instance, I examine one other accident in 2023 by which a self-driving Cruise automobile dragged a pedestrian alongside for about 20 toes earlier than stopping. That may be very scary and makes me query if these vehicles are able to be on our streets. Regardless that they’re speculated to be superior, accidents like this present that there are nonetheless severe issues that would put pedestrians, pets and even passengers in danger.

In hopes of bringing residents’ consideration to the potential risks of driverless vehicles, I’ve thought of making a flyer that may very well be posted round KitKat’s outdated store. Individuals with related issues, or those that don’t wish to see KitKat’s loss of life be in useless, may help us make sure that these Waymos might be additional secure when touring by our communities.

I hope with these current incidents, extra folks will take note of the dangers of driverless vehicles and work collectively to make our streets safer for everybody.

Carmen Hernandez, Los Angeles