To the editor: Residents of Santa Monica who live near the Waymo charging station are justifiably angry with the cacophony created by the vehicles’ backup beepers, but they’re directing their anger at the wrong party (“Santa Monica residents go to war against Waymo, including obstructing driverless taxis,” May 29). Waymo, too, is the victim of inane government regulations that require these backup beepers on all sorts of vehicles. Do these beepers really prevent that many accidents? Has any government agency properly considered the number of collisions prevented by backup beepers against the number of individuals driven crazy by them? If it were seriously investigated, I imagine regulations could be scrapped or reduced and all of us would benefit from a little less noise.
Murray Levy, Aptos, Calif.
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To the editor: How dare the city of Santa Monica cave to Waymo? Buried at the end of the article, we find that instead of finding ways to kick Waymo out of its underhanded lease arrangement, city leaders are exploring ways to reduce backup safety sound regulations. That makes the vehicles more dangerous for the entire state, because there are no drivers in the cars to warn us with a conventional horn honk.
This astounding lack of commitment to the public interest should be condemned by Santa Monica voters at the next election.
Jon Merritt, Los Angeles
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To the editor: I sympathize with the residents of Santa Monica who feel overrun by the unexpected noise of all the Waymo taxis recharging in their neighborhood. In general, I believe we should ban all robotaxis. This is a product no one needs. It steals jobs from human drivers, competes with public transit, increases gridlock and, if you have ever been caught behind a lost robotaxi, is another point of frustration in trying to navigate the wasteland of our city streets.
Robert Davis, Tarzana
