In the past year, completely driverless vehicles navigated nearly 3.3 million miles in California, surpassing the previous year’s total by more than fivefold, according to state data on vehicle testing released on Friday. The surge in testing comes despite heightened concerns following a Cruise robotaxi accident, which prompted a public outcry and a nationwide suspension of operations by the company.
The lion’s share of these autonomous miles was covered by General Motors’ Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo, accounting for 63% and 36%, respectively, of the recorded miles without a safety driver, as reported by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Notably, the San Francisco area has witnessed an increase in taxis with empty driver’s seats, becoming a common sight.
In response to the Cruise accident, where an autonomous vehicle collided with a pedestrian, dragging them 20 feet (6.1 meters), the company halted operations across the country. However, the incident did not deter the overall growth in autonomous testing in the region.
Autonomous tests conducted with a safety driver also saw an increase, rising from 5.1 million miles to 5.7 million miles, according to DMV data spanning from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023.
Advocates of self-driving technology have long argued that it can enhance road safety compared to human drivers prone to issues like driving under the influence, texting, or falling asleep at the wheel.
Despite the positive developments, residents of San Francisco, city agencies, and certain labor unions have raised concerns about the disruptive nature of robotaxis, citing erratic driving behavior and abrupt stops in busy traffic. In October, the DMV took action by suspending testing and deployment permits for Cruise, which is currently under investigation by various authorities, including the Justice Department.
As of the latest data, 38 companies hold permits to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver. Notably, six of these have received permits for driverless testing, including Waymo, Amazon’s Zoox unit, Baidu’s Apollo, and startups Nuro, WeRide, and AutoX.
Furthermore, there is growing scrutiny and concerns surrounding Chinese companies testing autonomous vehicles, with some U.S. lawmakers advocating for increased transparency regarding the collection and storage of sensitive data on citizens, infrastructure, and technologies.
