Robotaxis keep tangling with firefighters on the streets of San Francisco, and the fire chief is fed up. "They're not ready for prime time," Chief Jeanine Nicholson said. Nicholson is talking about the driverless taxis from Waymo and Cruise that are picking up passengers and dropping them off in designated sections of the city. Now those companies want to rapidly expand service throughout the entire city, in unlimited numbers, in any kind of weather, day or night. And state regulators appear ready to approve their request.

Under the watchful eyes of the public and lawmakers, several traditional automakers and tech companies have been racing to the finish line of "fully autonomous driving." Companies are already testing their cars in real-world conditions on public streets, and to date, some have driven millions of miles. Though opinions vary, it is hypothesized that we will be safer in autonomous vehicles (AKA self-driving cars). And while we would really need significantly more data to determine this as a statistic, I can imagine the experience of riding in full autopilot will be somewhat like flying: though much scarier than driving (for most), you are still safer, statistically-speaking. Regardless, it will be some time before the majority of average consumers have replaced their conventional vehicles.

Reuters – The fatal crash of a Tesla Motors, Inc. Model S in Autopilot mode has turned up pressure on auto industry executives and regulators to ensure that automated driving technology is deployed safely. The first such known accident, which occurred in Florida in May, has highlighted tensions surrounding efforts to turn over responsibility for braking, steering and driving judgments to machines. It may delay the U.S. government's plan to outline guidelines for self-driving cars this month. The cause of the Model S crash is still under investigation by federal and Florida state authorities, which are looking into whether the driver was distracted before his 2015 Model S went under a truck trailer. Shares of Tesla and Mobileye NV, the maker of the camera vision system used in the Model S, rose on Friday as analysts said the accident was likely a short-term setback.

The fatal crash of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S in Autopilot mode has turned up pressure on auto industry executives and regulators to ensure that automated driving technology is deployed safely. The first such known accident, which occurred in Florida in May, has highlighted tensions surrounding efforts to turn over responsibility for braking, steering and driving judgements to machines. It may delay the US government's plan to outline guidelines for self-driving cars this month. The cause of the Model S crash is still under investigation by federal and Florida state authorities, which are looking into whether the driver was distracted before his 2015 Model S went under a truck trailer. Shares of Tesla and Mobileye NV, the maker of the camera vision system used in the Model S, rose on July 1 as analysts said the accident was likely a short-term setback.