Driverless Cars Collide With First Responders And Police On San Francisco’s Streets On A Daily Basis

San Francisco is one of the only places on earth where autonomous vehicles roam the streets alongside regular vehicles. But as the cars have become more common, so have the awkward, frustrating, and sometimes dangerous interactions between them and first responders.

A fire department official claimed that the incursions of autonomous vehicles have now become a “daily occurrence,” in the margins of an April 26 incident report, according to Mission Local.

“This is an increasing problem. I believe there are many more incidents that are not being reported,” the official wrote in the report. In another note in the same report, they wrote that the incident was “number 3 today.”

Indeed, Mission Local found 15 incident reports documenting dangerous situations involving autonomous vehicles operated by Waymo and Cruise. In each case, the vehicle interfered with fire vehicles or crews at emergency scenes.