Cyclists can’t decide whether to fear or love self-driving cars

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the challenges and concerns faced by cyclists in San Francisco as autonomous vehicles become more prevalent on the city's streets. It highlights the experiences of cyclists who have had close calls or near-misses with self-driving cars, and the efforts by autonomous vehicle companies to address bicycle safety.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Cyclists' Experiences with Autonomous Vehicles

1. What are some of the negative experiences that cyclists have had with autonomous vehicles in San Francisco?

• Cyclists have reported incidents where autonomous vehicles have driven erratically, cut them off, or failed to see them, leading to near-misses and close calls.
• One cyclist, Reed Martin, reported an incident where a Cruise autonomous vehicle barreled towards him and his 5-year-old daughter as they were crossing a crosswalk, forcing them to jump out of the way.
• Other cyclists have described autonomous vehicles driving at excessive speeds, blocking bike lanes, and disobeying traffic signals and road markings.

2. How do cyclists feel about the presence of autonomous vehicles on the roads?

• Many cyclists are hopeful about the potential for autonomous vehicles to improve road safety, as they don't experience road rage or distraction like human drivers.
• However, some cyclists resent being "guinea pigs" for the technology, as they feel the autonomous vehicles are not yet fully capable of safely sharing the roads with cyclists.
• Cyclists express a "weird sensation" of helplessness when an autonomous vehicle is headed towards them, as they can't interact with the vehicle in the same way they would with a human driver.

3. What are the key concerns raised by cyclists and bicycle safety advocates regarding autonomous vehicles?

• While autonomous vehicles are pitched as a safer alternative to human-driven cars, cyclists argue that the companies need to "live up to the promise" and demonstrate that their vehicles are truly safer for vulnerable road users like cyclists.
• There is a lack of comprehensive data and oversight on the interactions between autonomous vehicles and cyclists, as most incidents are not reported to regulators.
• Cyclists are worried that as autonomous vehicle companies expand their operations, more cyclists will be exposed to the technology before it is fully developed and reliable.

[02] Autonomous Vehicle Companies' Efforts to Address Bicycle Safety

1. What are some of the measures taken by autonomous vehicle companies to improve safety for cyclists?

• Cruise has developed protocols with the League of American Bicyclists, including programming their vehicles to shift slightly in their lanes as cyclists approach and regularly updating the vehicles' technology to recognize bike lanes and bike boxes.
• Waymo has trained its vehicles on over 20 million miles of driving, including interactions with all types of road users, and uses multiple sensors to detect and respond to cyclists.
• Waymo's vehicles are programmed to give cyclists ample space and can recognize when a rider is a child or riding erratically. The vehicles also warn passengers to look for cyclists before opening their doors.

2. How do autonomous vehicle companies respond to the concerns raised by cyclists?

• Cruise and Waymo both state that bicycle safety is a core part of their mission and that their vehicles' safety records are better than human-driven cars.
• However, incidents like a Waymo vehicle hitting a cyclist in February 2023 demonstrate that the technology is still not perfect, and the companies acknowledge they are still learning from such incidents.

3. What is the regulatory landscape around autonomous vehicles and bicycle safety?

• California regulators have allowed Waymo and Cruise to expand their operations in San Francisco, despite ongoing investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into potential flaws in the companies' vehicles.
• Regulators have few ways to track problems beyond citizen reports, and must rely largely on the companies' self-reported data, which can lack detail.
• This leaves cyclists and advocates concerned that the expansion of autonomous vehicles is happening before the technology is fully proven to be safe for vulnerable road users.