Imperfect technology, city’s ‘chaotic’ streets raise fears
The idea of self-driving cars on city streets has some worried about glitches and children, bicyclists and pedestrians being in the crosshairs.
“Unfortunately what we saw with Uber and what we’re seeing in other places is that the computers — the technology — isn’t perfect,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director at LivableStreets Alliance.
Her concerns come as Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s administration gave Boston-based nuTonomy permission to test autonomous vehicles on all city streets, not just in the Seaport.
NuTonomy is being required to keep two people in the cars to watch over the equipment and be ready to take the wheel.
But keeping them vigilant is another concern, raised by Wendy Landman, executive director of WalkBoston.
“Generally speaking, when you have people in the vehicles who don’t have much to do except watch out for possible problems, you need to make sure people can stay alert and really be on top of things,” Landman said. “It’s hard to pay attention when you’re not doing much.”
The intricate street patterns of Boston aren’t easy to navigate, Landman added.
“Nobody really knows how this is going to work,” she said. “How good will these vehicles be at dealing with the incredibly complicated environment that is Boston streets?”
Both Landman and Thompson said they hope the company will share data from the testing.
City Councilor Michelle Wu noted that car accidents across the country are already increasing due to distracted driving.
“As a pedestrian, and as someone who rides a bike from time to time, I know how chaotic Boston streets can be,” Wu said. “We need to have some information on what the plan is if we’re going to be introducing this extra element of unpredictability.”
Councilor Timothy McCarthy, a former Department of Public Works supervisor, said there are constant construction projects cropping up daily throughout the city and wonders if that could be an impediment.
“If you’re digging up on Oak and Maple, how fast does that information get to the car without a driver?” he asked. “What’s the communication process between the utilities and the autonomous vehicles? There are a lot of logistics to work out.”