Car crashes killed more people in Los Angeles than homicides in 2023, with the city surpassing more than 300 traffic-related deaths last year. The culprit behind these record road deaths is all too well known: human drivers. But as autonomous vehicles begin to offer an alternative to the deadly status quo created by drivers, opponents of the new technology are campaigning to sully the safety record of autonomous vehicles.
In Los Angeles, the Teamsters demonstrated, issued statements, and held press conferences, all focused on sharing the message that the VA is “reckless” and “destructive.” Missing from this alarmist campaign is any data to support the Teamsters’ safety claims.
Over the past year, a wave of research has been published enabling comparative analyzes of autonomous vehicles and human drivers. Research examining insurance claims found that autonomous vehicles significantly reduced personal injuries and property damage compared to human drivers. In a comparative study of robo-taxis and human drivers, another report found that AVs in San Francisco reduced crashes with injury or damage by about 71% compared to human ride-hailing operators. And when comparing self-driving vehicles in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles to human drivers in those cities, the same study found that self-driving vehicles reduced crashes by 85%.
These are numbers that save lives. In fact, if self-driving vehicles made up just 13% of cars on the road in California, our research reveals that self-driving vehicles would have saved approximately 1,300 lives over the past three years and prevented up to 5,000 serious injuries.
It’s no big secret how commercial vehicles outperform human drivers when it comes to safety. AVs don’t drive drunk, even though Los Angeles experiences over 100 driving deaths in a single year. Commercial vehicles do not drive distracted, yet in California, distracted drivers cause more than 100 deaths per year. And AVs don’t drive at high speeds, even though speeding killed more than 1,500 people statewide in 2021.
It is important to note that AVs are also improving every year. With more data and more driving time, improved commercial vehicles are improving how they keep passengers, pedestrians and everyone on the road safe. In contrast, deaths caused by human drivers remain stubbornly high, year after year.
Despite the facts, the Teamsters have launched a so-called “security” campaign against audiovisual technologies. To stop AVs in their tracks, the union sponsored legislation (SB 915) that would allow local municipalities to ban AVs, thereby undoing the deployment of AVs statewide by creating a patchwork of laws that restrict their movement between cities.
While a mass of research on commercial vehicles and the safety of human drivers contradicts the Teamsters’ safety narrative, the union has another argument it has deployed against commercial vehicles: the fear that commercial vehicles cause job losses.
These claims deserve further examination.
That’s why my organization, Chamber of Progress, just released a new study finding that AVs are poised to create 114,000 jobs over the next 15 years in production, distribution, maintenance, upgrades and repairs. Better yet, it is estimated that 82% of audiovisual workers will earn more than the median salary. Compare that to rideshare drivers, whose average salary is lower than the national median salary.
Researchers found that self-driving trucks would increase the number of U.S. jobs by up to 35,000. Another study from the National Disability Institute finds that if reliable, affordable AVs were widely available, about 4.4 million would Direct jobs would be created for Americans with disabilities.
And the benefits VAs bring to the disability community extend beyond access to employment. The National Federation of the Blind says the autonomy AVs provide to blind and visually impaired people will be life-changing. Utility vehicles would also ease the transportation burden faced by minority communities by making travel easier, safer and cheaper.
Unions are an important part of our society and have created essential workplace rights for everyone. They can and should advocate for job protection. But the Teamsters’ claims about AV safety are false, and the reality behind AVs and jobs is more complex than the Teamsters admit.
We should look for ways to improve opportunities for workers. But these opportunities should not come at the expense of public safety and equity solutions, or the new employment opportunities that AVs will bring. Although commercial vehicles could reduce the Teamsters’ hold on California’s transportation sector, that’s not a good reason to block an innovation that could save lives and prevent fatal accidents on the roads.
As traffic deaths outpace gun violence in Los Angeles, we must be honest about the reality of the traffic safety crisis we face: the status quo created by deadly human drivers is broken. For a decade, California cities have failed to meet their Vision Zero goals to reduce traffic deaths. It’s time for policymakers to side with safety data and allow the deployment of safe AVs in California.
Adam Kovacevich is the founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress. Adam has worked at the intersection of technology and policy for 20 years, leading public policy at Google and Lime.
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