To the editor: Whereas it’s encouraging that Waymos are concerned in fewer severe accidents than human-driven autos, I’d like to see knowledge that reveal all of the occasions Waymos have frozen in the course of the road for minutes on finish, blocking site visitors in each instructions (“As robotaxi accidents increase in L.A., the data reveal the safer driver,” Oct. 5).
My spouse and I reside in Franklin Hills (a part of the research zone cited within the article). Our neighborhood incorporates slim, winding, 100-year-old streets. Usually, there is just one satisfactory lane when one elements in road parking, requiring human drivers to depend on hand alerts to speak how every of us ought to navigate a restricted right-of-way — for instance, who ought to pull over or again up, or quickly pull into a personal driveway to let the opposite automobile move.
This feature for visible cues isn’t obtainable with robotaxis. Everybody on our block has tales of Waymos “stalling out,” invariably placing the onus on human drivers to extricate themselves from tight conditions, which frequently means a three-point flip and going the lengthy approach to our vacation spot.
Impeding site visitors is a transparent security situation for emergency personnel. We now have complained to our council consultant, they usually agree. Additionally they agree that their arms are tied. It’s absurd {that a} state company (the California Public Utilities Fee) doesn’t take into account the place of metropolis councils concerning the employment of robotaxis, as native leaders clearly know their communities greatest.
Paul Haddad, Los Angeles
