Los Angeles commuters: Don't panic, but self-driving taxis may soon become a more common site on local streets.
On March 1, state regulators gave Waymo, the self-driving taxi company owned by Alphabet, Google's parent company, the green light to expand its robotaxi service to Los Angeles County, paving the way for the company's expansion into one of its largest markets. in the United States. nation.
While local transit agencies handle day-to-day traffic operations in their jurisdictions, the California Public Utilities Commission oversees regulation of autonomous vehicles across the state, replacing local governments.
Waymo hasn't revealed a timeline for when its service will become widely available, but a few Waymo vehicles are already driving around the county, including around the USC campus, as part of an ongoing testing and promotion program.
Under the new approval agreement, Waymo's driverless fleet can operate in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, East Los Angeles, Compton and many other locations.
Here's what we know so far about the future of self-driving taxis in Los Angeles County:
What is the Waymo One vehicle and how does it work?
Just like Lyft or Uber, Waymo One is a ride-hailing service, where prices depend on the distance of each ride. But unlike those other services, there will be no one to make small talk with while riding in a Waymo One vehicle because the vehicles are controlled by computer software.
Passengers enter their destination through the app and can sit in the front or back seat, but are not allowed to sit in the driver's seat, according to Waymo.
The company currently uses the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace SUV as part of its fleet in San Francisco and Phoenix, and it is equipped with lidar, cameras, radar and an artificial intelligence platform to safely maneuver through traffic.
Waymo, formerly known as Google's self-driving car, has developed its AI software with electric vehicle brand Zeekr and China Euro Vehicle Technology AB, or CEVT.
Driving automation can be divided into six categories, according to standards-setting organization Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). On a scale of 0 to 5, with the lowest being a human fully controlling the vehicle and 5 being fully automated, Waymo vehicles can be rated as a 4 or 5, according to SAE.
Where will Waymo vehicles be deployed in Los Angeles County?
A Waymo spokesperson said the company “will take a careful and gradual approach to expansion” while working with city officials, local communities and other groups to make sure the service is safe and available to its customers.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has granted several companies permission to operate self-driving vehicles throughout the state. Waymo is permitted to deploy its fleet at all times of the day in its designated areas. The vehicles can operate in inclement weather, rain and fog at speeds up to 65 mph.
In Los Angeles County, Waymo will be deployed in parts or all of the following cities:
Belle Gardens Beverly Hills Carson Commerce Compton Cudahy Culver City El Segundo Gardena Hawthorne Huntington Park Inglewood Lawndale Long Beach Los Angeles Lynwood Manhattan Beach Maywood Paramount Redondo Beach Santa Monica Southgate Torrance Vernon West Hollywood
What should a passenger do if his self-driving car hits a bend in the barrier?
Waymo provides customers with a list of frequently asked questions after they sign up for the service that provides basic information about their ride, but the company has declined to answer details about what a passenger should do if they're involved in a fender bender while riding in one. Of Waymo's self-driving vehicles.
In a November 2023 MarketWatch article, Tilia Gode, Waymo's head of risk and insurance, compared the insurance on Waymo's vehicles to the coverage the car rental company offers for its vehicles.
“Just like any business entity, we have insurance coverage that covers the Waymo driver for the duration of the driving assignment,” Judd explains. “Basically, there is a shift from human drivers to the autonomous system that is the driver — Waymo is the driver.”
So where does that leave its passengers?
Well, this is where the rubber meets the road.
Like any business that offers its services through an app, customers enter into an agreement when they sign up with Waymo. Riders are supposed to report any damage to the exterior or interior of the vehicle during their ride and can be held liable for such damage if it is discovered later, according to the terms of service.
This includes a collision, flat tire, or any reason that prevents the vehicle from reaching its destination.
“I would strongly suggest that someone get law enforcement involved immediately, even if it's not a category of crash where reporting is mandatory,” said Bryant Walker Smith, an associate professor of law at the University of South Carolina.
Having a police report detailing an account of the events is a good idea and could allow police to interact with Waymo if there is any type of investigation.
What if a Waymo vehicle hits a pedestrian, cyclist, or someone's property?
There are decades of legal issues when it comes to car-driver collisions, but not so much for self-driving vehicles.
There's a lot of speculation about how these self-driving vehicles will fit under current law, said Gregory Keating, a professor of law and philosophy at USC Gould School of Law.
The question becomes whether the case will move to liability for the product, the vehicle, the software that trained the AI, or all of the above in a lawsuit.
“We're entering new territory,” Keating said. “The vehicle operator, like Waymo or GM, should take responsibility, but it's not clear whether it will work that way.”
Since Waymo's vehicles are equipped with cameras, all events leading up to any type of collision will be recorded by the vehicle, but that footage is also the property of Waymo, Smith said.
Law enforcement can obtain that footage as part of an investigation, a lawyer can request it as part of a lawsuit or the government agency overseeing the program can request the data.
Smith points out that the public is deeply concerned about every instance in which a self-driving vehicle is involved in a car accident, but more than 40,000 people are killed each year in car accidents, according to federally available data.
However, the booming self-driving car industry is gaining public attention as it now joins other commuters on the road – albeit a sometimes a bit bumpy one.
In February, a Waymo car struck a cyclist in San Francisco, causing minor injuries, according to Reuters.
Waymo reported that its self-driving car was completely stopped at a four-way intersection when a large truck crossed the intersection toward the Waymo vehicle. When it was the Waymo vehicle's turn to move forward, the vehicle moved forward, but did not detect the bicyclist who was following the blocked truck. The Waymo vehicle applied heavy braking, but was unable to avoid the collision, according to the company.
The police moved to the scene and notified the Traffic Department of the accident.
In another accident, a General Motors self-driving car hit a motorcyclist in San Francisco. The motorcyclist suffered some minor injuries as a result of the collision, according to court records in the ensuing lawsuit.
In subsequent legal papers referring to the accident, legal experts talked about the car as if it were a person, using language such as “the car was driven unreasonably” and “the car was negligent” as if it were the one being sued, Smith said. He said.
How are autonomous vehicles received by local jurisdictions?
There's a healthy dose of skepticism because state regulators have the final say on where self-driving vehicles can roam.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass asked regulators in November to increase their scrutiny of autonomous vehicles, and said the city should have a say in how they are regulated.
At the time, it referred to one of Waymo's driverless cars operating in Los Angeles that initially failed to stop for a traffic officer at Poudre Street and Wilshire Boulevard on August 3, 2023. The officer was signaling eastbound and westbound traffic to come to a stop.
Prior to approval by the California PUC, the San Mateo County District Attorney. John D. Nebelin protested, saying the county didn't have enough information about expansion plans or enough involvement with Waymo.
“The ‘rapid and streamlined’ consultation letter review process…is insufficient to develop the evidence necessary to fully understand the potential impacts and issues that Waymo’s expansion into San Mateo County will create, including consideration of the various needs and obstacles Waymo will face during operation.” “In San Mateo County,” Nebelin’s letter to the commission said.
There's a lot of excitement surrounding the introduction of self-driving vehicles, and that raises a lot of questions about how current laws hold a company liable for a self-driving vehicle, USC's Keating said. But Waymo's record so far is above par.
A self-driving vehicle can perform the same type of maneuvers as a driver without any hesitation.
“But there can be one situation that makes people say, 'Oh, that's scary that the car did that,'” Keating said. “All it takes is one incident to scare people.”
