San Jose Mercury Editorial: Here come the robotaxis, and Bay Area communities can’t do a thing. This must change

After watching robotaxis in San Francisco snarl traffic, block emergency responders and even run over a pedestrian, local officials elsewhere in the Bay Area are helpless to stop similar debacles in their communities.

That’s because autonomous vehicles are managed by the state: The Department of Motor Vehicles focuses on vehicle safety, while the California Public Utilities Commission regulates and oversees safety for commercial passenger services.

Those agencies let General Motors’ Cruise run wild in San Francisco until public outcry about dangerous incidents forced the state in October to suspend the company’s permit to operate driverless vehicles in California. But the agencies have given the green light to Google spinoff Waymo to expand its service beyond San Francisco to the Peninsula and start serving Los Angeles.

The state ignored the concerns of officials in Los Angeles and San Mateo County. And the local jurisdictions have no control over the numbers of self-driving cars on their roads, how the vehicles are deployed or what if any data is shared by companies. They can’t even give errant robotaxis a ticket.

That must change. As much as we don’t want a complete patchwork of regulations inhibiting technological advancements, decisions affecting the public safety must be made transparently and with data to support it. Which is why two bills moving through the state Legislature deserve serious consideration.

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