Self-driving taxis would drive on streets in three Illinois counties under a bill that’s being considered in Springfield.
Vehicles operated by Waymo, a brand of robotaxis, are already on the roads in several major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin. Illinois Rep. Kam Buckner’s proposal would start a pilot program in Cook County, plus likely Springfield in Sangamon County and Madison or St. Clair counties.
“I think the only way for us to have autonomous vehicles happen with us and not to us is to do what we’re doing here: take the time, do the pilot, and figure out where we want to go as a state,” said Buckner, a Democrat from Chicago.
After three years, the vehicles could be deployed statewide if the Illinois Department of Transportation “determines the pilot projects conducted have demonstrated safety and operational readiness,” according to the bill text online.
The Silicon Valley-based company told NBC 5 it’s supportive of Buckner’s legislation.
“The data shows our vehicles are involved in 10x fewer serious injury or worse crashes, and 12x fewer injury crashes with pedestrians compared to other drivers where we operate,” the company said in part.
Waymo is currently under federal investigation after a driverless taxi hit a child outside of a Santa Monica, California, elementary school in January.
Josh Witkowski, a lobbyist with ABATE of Illinois, questioned not only the safety of the vehicles, but also whether there’d be enough oversight. The organization advocates for motorcyclists.
“We just saw where one hit a child in a school zone in California just last week. If they have problems seeing smaller road users, they’re going to have problems seeing motorcycles, and that is a problem for us,” Witkowski said.
ABATE of Illinois is proposing its own bill.
“Our proposed legislation forces them to disclose data every time there’s a collision. Not only do they have to disclose it to the person they’ve collided with, but they have show publicly what happened and what they’re going to do to keep it from happening in the future,” Witkowski said.
The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, a statewide organization whose members represent injured consumers and workers, encouraged lawmakers to pump the brakes on Buckner’s legislation, calling it “a misguided attempt to self-regulate the autonomous vehicle industry in Illinois.”
“Unfortunately, the bill fails to protect passengers that may utilize the technology, those that would share the roadways with AVs, and the public at large. Waymo markets itself as ‘The World’s Most Experienced Driver,’ but its threats to safety and crashes are well-documented,” ITLA president Timothy Cavanagh said in a statement.
Opponents are also concerned about how Waymos would handle snowy conditions in Illinois.
“We’re continuing to validate our technology’s performance in winter weather as we expand to colder climates, including Denver, Detroit and Minneapolis. We’re looking forward to rolling out high quality, snow-ready rides for passengers when it is safe to do so,” Waymo told NBC 5 in a statement.
As part of Buckner’s bill, cities would have to opt in to the pilot program.
“There has been conversation about the village of Rosemont. Obviously they’ve got a lot of retail. They’re right by the airport. There’s some desire there to have the conversation,” Buckner said.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was noncommittal when asked Tuesday about the potential for a pilot program.
“If you’re asking me if that’s something I would support, I would have to give that more consideration,” Johnson said.
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