Letters to the Editor: Robots don't get distracted by phones. Bring on driverless cars

To the editor: The wider use of self-driving cars will improve traffic, as they will fully follow all traffic laws and speed limits, not be distracted by phone calls, texts, passengers or outside stimuli, and keep the proper distance from other vehicles. ("Will self-driving cars make L.A.'s world-famous traffic even worse?" column, Feb. 23)

So many traffic problems are caused by crashes and other human-created snafus that will be avoided by autonomous vehicles.

Ultimately, artificial intelligence can provide efficient carpooling by aggregating data on riders and routes. At least we can dream.

Brenda Gant, Glendale

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To the editor: Of course traffic will be worse when fleets of self-driving cars arrive in L.A., just as traffic got palpably worse in the summer of 2012 after private Uber and Lyft vehicles started clogging L.A. streets.

The real questions are who will subsidize the likes of Google's Waymo, and who will forfeit their urban mobility?

I hope that driverless cars will be taxed sufficiently to offset the increased wear and tear on the urban infrastructure, including roads and the power grid — and to discourage their proliferation at the expense of more efficient mass transit.

Let’s not fool anyone: Driverless cars are selfish private transportation for the well-heeled that enrich wealthy investors. Consequently, everyone, rich or poor, will sit in gridlock going not far or fast.

Richard Stanley, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.