Heya friends, happy Friday!
I often forget about CES being this time of year, and well this week we have a lot of “news” about the various gadgets the tech industry is showcasing in Vegas. My friend Alex Mitchell shared a cheat sheet for CES in his newsletter, and while I’m late on sharing it, those of you who are nerdy about all things CES may absolutely geek out over it.
Over to ze news:
New California Bill looks to give cities control over AV programs
What a novel idea. I’m sure the AV companies will have their lobbyists all over this one, but SB 915 aims to allow local authorities to control autonomous vehicle regulation. Decision-making for AV operations would happen via local lawmakers and not the state. This has always made sense to me; the fact the City of San Francisco has no control over the AV companies operating on their streets—and yet is held responsible for when things went wrong is just off. Back in the day, I co-authored a white paper for Siemens called “Cities in the Driving Seat” about just this. It was published in 2017, and I’d like to believe it was ahead of its time. [Alternative article from SF Standard here]
Why are American drivers so deadly?
The NYT has a long-form piece about traffic violence in the US, and in particular, what makes US drivers so much worse than drivers in other countries. It emphasizes that after decades of declining fatality rates, dangerous driving has surged once again. The article recommends a lot of “enforcement” aka a very gentle way of saying police, which is something I have concerns about, but it does eventually land on infrastructure and land use as the necessary levers for improvement. It also takes a deep twist into the psychology of driving, which I find infinitely fascinating.
Good news: Atlanta offers $2k rebates for ebikes
Filed under good news. Atlanta has allocated a sweet $1m to ebikes for city residents as part of a new program designed to cut down on traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. Three-quarters of the funds are reserved for people making less than the city’s median income. We love to see it.
The NYT named AVs as “tech that needs fixing in 2024”
Meanwhile, I would like them to be bolder and think about fixing city streets, transit frequency and coverage, and funding mechanisms for sustainable transport but alas.
Cruise wants to pay $75k to get out of California crash probe
The City of San Francisco: We’re taking you to court after you lied about dragging an innocent civilian with your car. Also you owe us $108m in taxes.
Cruise: Would you let us off the hook if we sent you a sweet $75k while we wiggle our way out of the (a) taxes, and (b) almost killing a person?
Well, we all knew this day would eventually come, but let’s just say I have limited faith it will go smoothly. Waymo will start testing their fleet of AVs on Phoenix highways with employees only. Pending a smooth testing phase, it plans to expand operations to the public.
Aurora and Continental offer AV trucking kits
The first phase of Aurora and Continental’s plans to offer AV trucking kits is complete. The duo is spending a cool $300m to mass produce autonomous vehicle hardware for commercial self-driving trucks. According to their press release they’ve completed the design and system architecture for the program.
Tesla recalls 1.6m cars in China
Another week, another Tesla recall. This time in China on a fleet of 1.6m cars. This follows the recall on 2m cars in the US a few weeks fast, with both recalls focused on the car’s Autopilot feature. An over the air update with seemingly fix the problem. “The updated software involves “adding additional automatic assisted steering control,” the regulator said. It also said that Tesla would remind customers to pay attention to their driving and follow all regulations even if they use the so-called Autopilot capabilities.”
How State governments can deliver sustainable transportation
The Rocky Mountain Institute has a piece about how if States focus on car alternatives and better pedestrian infrastructure, they could save 6,000 lives and $259 billion each year nationally.
This week I saw my badass friend Kimee get up on stage and share a story about our friend Hansel. She performed at Happy Endings, a literary show for local writers in SF. It was so incredibly wholesome, and naturally, our entire friend group sobbed. It was so beautiful, and I’m so grateful for her courage and for the reminder that Hansel truly was a sunbeam.
On a very different note, I also saw the most recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie this week (s/o Sarah + Adam). It was delightful? Reminded me of the Spiderverse movies in the best way.
That’s all from me. Have a beautiful weekend friends.
Sarah
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From the NY Times article about behavior and tendencies to honk impatiently: I have cameras pointed at this ridiculous misaligned intersection in front of our house. There are no dedicated turn lanes and a lot of turning goes on here. Impatient cars will honk at drivers who are signaling and waiting to turn. They will honk when there is no chance for them to make the turn, suggesting that they shouldn't even try to turn there," just get out of the way", etc. Seems like everybody is part of the "me generation" right now....https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMfNAGP-iqfgHXM15gYsXJLELlxokrrNu&si=h9kPp3tYoBlzWwSc