Councilman Calls For Los Angeles To Become Leader On Self-Driving Cars

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu has introduced a motion calling for Los Angeles to become a nationwide leader in adopting self-driving cars.

Ryu, who represents Hollywood, Silver Lake and other communities in the council's 4th district, said self-driving cars can help reduce traffic congestion, traffic deaths and also reduce the costs of driving for Angelenos.

"An autonomous transit city would eliminate the biggest drivers of traffic: vehicles circling looking for parking, vehicles blocking the intersection during rush hour, vehicles making last minute lane changes causing rapid stopping, vehicle accidents, and inefficient distances between cars on our roads," Ryu said in a statement. "Further, residents would likely prefer autonomous car shares rather than full vehicle ownership, freeing up land formerly used for parking lots, parking spaces, and gas stations."

Ryu's motion follows a flurry of activity on self-driving cars.

Uber earlier this month introduced self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, the federal government earlier this week said it will be in charge of overseeing regulations on self-driving cars, and Tesla also announced Thursday that it has updated its automation software to protect against hackers gaining access to a car's controls.

Gov. Brown signed legislation in 2012 allowing for the testing of Google's self-driving cars on California roads.

Ryu said he would like the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to report back on the benefits of Los Angeles becoming an autonomous vehicle city by 2035.

"An autonomous transit city has the potential to revolutionize transportation for the better by bringing transportation equity, greatly reducing traffic, and achieving the ... goal of zero road deaths in the city," Ryu said in a statement.