The California DMV recently suspended the Cruise autonomous vehicle service backed by General Motors, but transport unions believe that this is not the only driverless car service that should be scrutinized. In fact, more than two dozen unions – including the Transportation Trades Department, Teamsters, Transport Workers Union of America, and United Auto Workers (UAW) – have mounted pressure on safety regulators to open an industry-wide probe on all driverless vehicles, which would include Waymo and Zoox.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and acting administrator of the NHTSA Ann Carlson, the unions wrote that driverless vehicles “are unsafe and untenable in their current form,” adding that the industry sorely needs “federal regulation and leadership to restore a modicum of safety and establish a realistic path for these vehicles to operate without threatening other road users.”
