The commission, which didn't uphold its
mission statement of providing safety to the public, passed the
buck to the DMV
A former Cruise lawyer and current CPUC
commissioner voted in favor of his former employer
LOS
ANGELES, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following
two delayed votes, over six hours of public comment and heavy
opposition, the California Public Utilities Commission voted late
Thursday to authorize driverless car expansion in the city of
San Francisco despite numerous
reported safety issues not part of the official record, said
Consumer Watchdog.
The resolutions pertaining to GM Cruise and Waymo passed by a
vote of 3 to 1, with Commissioner Genevieve
Shiroma the lone dissenting vote.
"It's unfortunate the commissioners looked at this issue very
narrowly and departed from their own stated mission and
values of ensuring public safety," said Justin Kloczko, a tech and privacy advocate for
Consumer Watchdog. "They are failing to regulate a dangerous,
nascent industry. Los Angeles is
next."
Read Consumer Watchdog's letter here. The advocacy group also
presented comments during today's meeting.
Waymo and Cruise vehicles have been abruptly stopping, blocking
traffic, flashing wrong turn signals, and impeding emergency
responders from doing their jobs.
"The city of San Francisco said
there have been over 250 such reported incidents since the
beginning of the year. But you wouldn't know it if you asked
regulators or the robotaxi companies themselves. They don't have to
report such incidents," said Kloczko.
Over the past year, Waymo & Cruise could operate
driverless cars throughout the city of San Francisco at all
hours, but they couldn't charge fares all the time. Waymo
couldn't charge for driverless rides. Cruise could only
charge fares in certain parts of the city during overnight hours.
With today's vote, the companies can charge for all
rides, expand when and where they operate, and add
an unlimited number of robotaxis to their fleets. Waymo, for
example, can drive up to 65 mph.
Commissioner Shiroma, who asked for a suspension of the vote,
said the commission doesn't have a complete record to move forward
with the vote.
"I believe it is premature to vote for these resolutions today,"
she said, adding Cruise and Waymo must explain why they are making
unexpected stops and how they can ensure this doesn't happen in the
future.
"The fact that an injury or fatality hasn't happened yet isn't
the end of the inquiry," said Shiroma.
Commissioner John Reynolds, a
former Cruise lawyer, argued in favor of expansion. During his
remarks, he argued safety was an issue to be regulated not by the
CPUC, but by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
"Commissioner Reynolds should have recused himself from the
Cruise vote. Instead he did the bidding of his former corporate
employer," said Kloczko.
Commissioner Darcie
Houck, who also voted in favor of the
resolutions, said the DMV still has the power to revoke a
permit if something bad were to happen with the driverless
vehicles.
Chairwoman Alice Reynolds said,
"the resolutions before us do support our requirements."
Commissioner Karen Douglas was
absent from the vote.
Cruise has yet to turn a profit in its 10-year existence. It
lost $611 million during the second
quarter this year, according to a recent earnings report. The
total loss so far for 2023 is over $1
billion. Despite this Cruise expects to make $1 billion in revenue by 2025
In addition to being dangerous, driverless cars will take away
jobs, said the nonprofit advocacy group.
"The CPUC is helping accelerate a massive transfer of
wealth away from working people to tech monopolies," said
Kloczko.
City departments estimated Waymo vehicles were involved in
collisions with injuries reported at a rate 1.3 times higher than
the national average of human-driven vehicles. This analysis is
based on data that Waymo submitted to federal regulators, the CPUC
and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog