Driverless vehicles ‘a menace to society,’ labor unions say

Labor unions are urging the federal government to take a stronger stance against driverless vehicles that are being deployed before they are ready.

The Transport Workers Union of America, Transportation Trades Department, International Brotherhood of Teamsters and about two dozen other unions relayed their concerns in a letter sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

“We write today to reiterate our grave safety concerns about the expanded testing and operation of automated driving system-equipped vehicles,” the unions wrote. “Given the recent surge in both the number of cities operating these vehicles on public streets and the number of crashes and safety incidents involving these vehicles, we urge you to take immediate action to bring long overdue federal leadership to this issue.”

The unions urge the federal government to expand its ongoing investigation into General Motors’ autonomous vehicle division, Cruise, to include Waymo, Zoox and other autonomous vehicle operators. This investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was launched last month after a Cruise vehicle dragged a pedestrian down a street in San Francisco.

The unions also want NHTSA to subject driverless vehicles to stricter federal regulations and oversight.

“Driverless vehicles are a menace to society,” Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen said in a news release. “These untested, unproven robots block traffic, hinder first responders and emergency services, and harm pedestrians and other road users with tragically fatal consequences. The TWU has long warned about these dangers. Today, we join dozens of unions and their members to once again call on lawmakers and the federal government to investigate driverless technologies and the tech companies responsible for them and to lay down hard, fast rules for how and when we allow these machines to operate on our streets.”

Driverless robotaxis have been deployed in San Francisco throughout much of 2023.

NBC News and other media outlets reported that on Oct. 2 in San Francisco, a hit-and-run driver struck a pedestrian before a Cruise self-driving car ran the woman over.

There also have been reports in San Francisco of self-driving cars obstructing police and firefighters en route to emergencies. In June, an autonomous vehicle came to a full stop on a road emergency personnel were attempting to use in response to a nearby mass shooting. As of August, the San Francisco Fire Department said it had recorded 55 incidents of driverless vehicles blocking emergency vehicles in 2023.

In October, the California Department of Motor Vehicles concluded that Cruise’s robotaxis posed “an unreasonable risk to safety.” Days later, Cruise suspended its driverless operations nationwide.

Earlier this week, General Motors announced it was recalling all of its Cruise robotaxis so that they could receive a software update. The company said the update will force the vehicles to remain stationary should something similar to the hit-and-run incident happen again.

What about driverless trucks?

Attempts to deploy 80,000-pound trucks with no driver on board also have received scrutiny.

Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, testified at the hearing that the technology is not ready and said that the trucking industry should learn from the mistakes made by driverless cars.

“The safety mishaps are substantial, and the consequences are alarming,” Chase said. “While AVs for passengers and AV trucks are not the same, there are similarities and lessons to be learned from the ongoing San Francisco (program). The serious problems must not be replicated or magnified with trucks or transit vehicles, which are significantly larger and heavier, more complex to operate and can have devastating outcomes in crashes.” LL