San Francisco authorities are seeking to limit the growth of autonomous driving technology after numerous incidents caused by driverless cars. These cars have been known to stop in the middle of the road without reason and have interfered with firefighting efforts.
Officials have written letters to California regulators asking them to reduce the road testing activities of Cruise and Waymo, who are competing to be the first to offer 24-hour robotaxi service in the state. In one incident, firefighters had to break the windshield of a Cruise autonomous car to prevent it from driving over their hoses.
The proposed restrictions could have significant impact on the operations of Cruise and Waymo in other cities around the world. Despite the challenges, autonomous driving is seen as a potential solution to the 40,000 yearly deaths in American traffic.
See also: California approves a Autonomous GM Cruise taxi service in San Francisco
Cruise, majority-owned by GM, has received permission to offer driverless rides in San Francisco during nighttime hours and is testing 24-hour driverless rides, but has yet to receive full permission for passenger service.
An incident where a Cruise autonomous car paused at a traffic light and required manual intervention from a technician led to an investigation by the NHTSA.
