San Francisco fire chief says driverless cars are getting in the way of first responders

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DOG. ANIMAL CONTROL HAS TAKEN THE DOG PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION. >>> A NEW BATTLE IN SAN FRANCISCO. DRIVERLESS CARS AGAINST THE CITY'S FIRE CHIEF. A BATTLE BETWEEN HIGH-TECH PROGRESS AND THE GROWING CONCERN THAT THESE SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES DELAY EMERGENCY VEHICLES DRIVEN BY FIRST RESPONDERS. OUR BUSINESS AND TECH REPORTER SCOTT BUDMAN HAS DETAILS. >> Reporter: ONE WEEK AWAY FROM STATE REGULATORS VOTING ON WHETHER TO ALLOW AUTONOMOUS CARS EXPAND SERVICES IN SAN FRANCISCO. THE CITY'S FIRE CHIEF TOLD US SHE'D RATHER THEY HIT THE BRAKES. >> I'M NOT ANTI-TECHNOLOGY. WHAT I AM ANTI, IS GETTING IN THE WAY OF PUBLIC SAFETY WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO DO OUR JOBS. AND THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING TIME AND TIME AGAIN. >> Reporter: CHIEF JANINE NICHOLSON SAYS THE DRIVERLESS VEHICLES FROM COMPANIES LIKE ABOUT THE SAME MOW AND CRUISE ARE GETTING IN HER WAY. MOST RECENTLY ON JUNE 9th WHEN A CRUISE VEHICLE STOPPED ON ITS OWN NEAR A SHOOTING IN THE CITY'S MISSION DISTRICT. BUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS THEY'VE LOGGED NEARLY 40 INCIDENTS WITH ROBO TAXIS SINCE JANUARY 1st. >> BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN THESE VEHICLES RUN OVER OUR HOSES AND GET THEM CAUGHT IN THEIR WHEEL WELLS. WE'VE SEEN THEM STOP IN FRONT OF TWO DIFFERENT FIRE STATIONS NOW, BLOCKING OUR FIRE ENGINES FROM GETTING OUT ONTO CALLS. >> Reporter: WEYMO AND CRUISE SAY THEY CONTINUE TO WORK ON REFINING THE VEHICLES AND IMPROVING THEIR SAFETY RECORDS. AND WHILE WE DON'T YET KNOW THEIR ENTIRE GROWTH PLANS -- >> THEY'VE TESTED VEHICLES IN SAN FRANCISCO FOR YEARS. >> Reporter: TECH WATCHERS LIKE ADAM KAVAKOVICH OF THE CHAMBER OF PROGRESS SAYS HE BELIEVES OVERALL, THE DRIVERLESS CARS ARE LIKELY TO MAKE THINGS MORE SAFE FOR PEOPLE, NOT LESS. >> YEAH, THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SOME INCIDENTS. FAR INCIDENTS FEWER THAN HUMAN-DRIVEN ACCIDENTS. IN GENERAL, MY PREDICTION IS SEVERAL MONTHS FROM NOW, WE'LL LOOK BACK ON THIS AND SAY, WHY DID WE EVER WORRY THAT MUCH ABOUT AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN SAN FRANCISCO? >> Reporter: CHIEF NICHOLSON SAYS SHE CAN WAIT. >> I WOULD SAY, PLEASE HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON.
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Channel: NBC Bay Area
Views: 5,039
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: san francisco, autonomous cars, driverless cars, san francisco fire department
Id: -u-uPitdxoE
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 2min 13sec (133 seconds)
Published: Fri Jun 23 2023
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