Last week in this space we expressed our view that legislation to allow communities to install speed-detecting cameras is ill-advised and not a great use of resources, although we suggested that red light cameras would be more efficacious for improving traffic safety.
However, if our state and local officials really want to improve auto safety in this state, they should be doing everything they can to encourage the pioneering company Waymo to bring its autonomous-vehicles to Massachusetts.
It is ironic that we in Massachusetts consider ourselves a hub for technological innovation, but we are badly lagging other states across the country in bringing these computer-operated cars, which are the wave of the not-too-distant future, to the Commonwealth.
Autonomous cars offer a number of advantages over human-operated motor vehicles on our roadways.
First and foremost, they are far safer. Waymo, the Google subsidiary that has operated in San Francisco for many years and that has expanded into Austin, Phoenix, and Miami, among other places (with more on the way soon), has a safety record that far exceeds human drivers.
Consider these statistics from an insurance company study that was published just last month and that analyzed more than 500,000 claims and over 200 billion miles of driving:
— 90% fewer bodily injury claims than human drivers;
— An 85% reduction in crash rate involving any injury;
— An 88% reduction in property damage claims; and
— A 92% reduction in bodily injury claims.
Those statistics are astonishing and make clear that every day that state officials delay in bringing Waymo here adds another day of needless tragedies on our roadways.
Second, Waymo uses electric vehicles that will greatly reduce air pollution. With every public official in our state espousing that we need to do everything we can to combat climate change, the lowest-hanging fruit — with no cost to the taxpayers and no trade-offs for individuals — is to bring Waymo’s electric vehicles here.
Third, fleets of Waymo vehicles will be a godsend for those who cannot afford the high cost of owning and maintaining a motor vehicle. Imagine a future with no car payments, no insurance premiums, no maintenance, no gasoline expense, and no hassles with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. For many people, especially those who drive very seldomly, the convenience, reliability, and safety of Waymo would represent a hugely-affordable alternative to the ever-rising costs of owning a motor vehicle.
Fourth, autonomous vehicles will be a salvation for senior citizens, many of whom are unable to drive or for whom driving is ill-advised, but for whom autonomous vehicles will be a tremendous option, whether for doctor’s visits or trips to the grocery store. Autonomous vehicles would be especially useful for seniors in the suburbs surrounding Boston where public transportation is not available. In our best-of-all-worlds scenario, the state proactively would do everything possible to reach out to seniors to make it easy for them to access Waymo rides.
Finally, with Waymo offering an alternative to owning a car, this will have the added benefit of reducing the parking problem that exists in almost every community in the Greater Boston area.
We have written in the past about our wonderful experience with Waymo vehicles when we recently visited San Francisco. Our view mirrors that of everyone else who has used them — they cannot say enough good things about Waymo’s autonomous vehicles.
In short, we have seen the future and it is here.
But in Massachusetts, we are still stuck in the mid-20th century.
So whether it is Waymo or Elon Musk’s promised Tesla robo-taxis, we urge our state officials to do whatever they can to bring this technology and these vehicles to Massachusetts. Our roads will be safer, our air will be cleaner, and there will be huge cost savings for our state’s citizens once the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles is underway.