Uber refuses to remove self-driving cars from San Francisco
Uber has defied state regulators who have ordered the start-up to withdraw its autonomous fleet of Volvos to riders throughout the San Francisco unless it receives a permit. California regulations apply only to vehicles that don't require a human supervisor. However the ride-sharing company has argued that there is always someone at the wheel of one of its autonomous vehicles. California DMV Counsel Brian Soublet has threatened to seek an injunction if Uber does not confirm that it will stop the unlawful testing of its self-driving cars. Wired reports the company has a strong case to resist legal challenges.
Uber will continue providing people with rides aboard its San Francisco fleet of self-driving cars, its technical chief said today, defying state regulators who have told the startup to put the cars in park. The intransigent move is sure to bring a rebuke from lawmakers who are threatening to sue.

The legal fight started Wednesday morning when the ridesharing giant opened its fleet of autonomous Volvos to riders throughout the city. It did so without applying for a permit to test autonomous technology, arguing that California regulations governing the tech apply only to vehicles that don’t require a human supervisor. There is always someone at the wheel of an autonomous Uber.

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Within hours, California DMV counsel Brian Soublet told Levandowski in a letter that his agency would take legal action and seek an injunction if Uber did not immediately confirm that it would stop testing and seek a permit. Mayor Ed Lee called on Uber “to stop the unpermitted and unlawful testing of autonomous vehicles.”

Uber’s reply? Come at me, bros.

“We respectfully disagree with the California DMV’s legal interpretation of today’s automation regulations,” Anthony Levandowski, who leads Uber’s automation efforts, said in a conference call Friday afternoon. After all, he argued, no one says that Teslas with the semiautonomous “Autopilot” function require a permit. As for that autonomous Uber that blew threw a red light just hours after Uber thumbed its nose at regulators? Levandowski blames that on the guy at the wheel, who’s been suspended.

Uber has a strong legal argument, even if it doesn’t give a damn about the spirit of the law, says Bryant Walker Smith, an expert on autonomous vehicles at the University of South Carolina School of Law. And its standard approach of charging into new territory without concerning itself with local laws and counting on its popularity to carry it through, has worked out well so far, even if it draws fire from critics.

Governing Autonomy

“Uber is failing to be a respectful civic partner to the city of San Francisco by choosing to put Uber’s self-interest before the safety of the residents of their hometown,” Ellen Canale, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said in a statement. “The Mayor is working with the DMV, state officials and the city attorney’s office to explore all possible avenues available to us to enforce state law.”

According to a letter addressed to Levandowski Friday, the DMV has referred the matter to California Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose office reiterated the state’s threat to seek an injunction to bar the company from operating. 1 But California has other options to explore. Regulators could deem the vehicles unsafe and revoke their registrations. And state troopers could cite them for reckless driving. But knowing Uber, it would fight the case.

Here’s the DMV’s initial letter to Levandovski, sent Wednesday:

1 Post updated December 16 at 20:15 to include details from California Attorney General Kamala Harris’s letter to Uber’s Anthony Levandowski.