DougWantsALeaf said:
Sure, the issue in this case is whether that progress should be allowed expansion on
public roads at this stage, when there are public safety issues. Both the police and firefighters reps testified at the PUC hearing about instances where they were unable to respond quickly due to these vehicles blocking traffic, and being unable to get them to move. Still, I much prefer the fact that this rollout by Cruise, Waymo etc. has taken as long as it has
because it is being regulated through state and local public hearings and governmental review, i.e. the normal (and IMO) absolutely necessary public safety consent process.
Compare this to Tesla, which simply decided to put members of the public at risk from Autopilot/FSD without asking them (members of the general public, through their government representatives and regulatory agencies, since asking each individual is impossible) if it was okay, or having any indication that the cars might be driving themselves. NHTSA showed how it shouldn't be done with Tesla, essentially giving them a free pass with no pre-release or subsequent expansion review at all, until quite recently. There's still almost no federal regulation of ADAS systems, despite NTSB repeatedly pointing out the safety issues and the need for such regulation for years [see
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=633216#p633216]. This sort of governmental review process may be slow and cumbersome, but is absolutely the way to go when public safety is at issue. 'Public' consent should be mandatory in such cases, not something any company can ignore if they wish.
Note that I'm fully in favor of developing autonomous vehicles, as we have an aging population plus now an entire generation of drivers who've grown up thinking that looking at/interacting with their cell phones is their first priority, and watching the road/driving their car comes second (or lower). But any such development/deployment
has to be done with the primary emphasis on public safety, not company convenience/profit or the desire of individuals to have the latest tech.
