A San Francisco supervisor is trying to use a KitKat to get in the way of Waymo’s self-driving cars. Not the candy bar, but a cat named KitKat (“The Mayor of 16th Street”), who was killed by one of the Alphabet-owned company’s robotaxis.
“I personally loved KitKat and I’m deeply heartbroken and upset,” District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder said on Instagram. “We deserve a say in what happens on our roads.”
Waymo admits that its vehicle was at fault. “We reviewed this, and while our vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers, a nearby cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away,” a spokesman said. “We send our deepest sympathies to the cat’s owner and the community who knew and loved him, and we have made a donation to a local animal rights organization in his honor.”
Fielder is using KitKat’s untimely demise to try to get local regulation of self-driving cars in California. She’s urging residents to contact their state representatives and the governor’s office and request that they “give counties the right to vote on whether autonomous vehicles (AVs) can operate in their areas. This would let local communities make decisions that reflect their needs and safety concerns, while also addressing state worries about intercity consistency.”
She seized on recent comments from Waymo co-CEO Takedra Mawakana, who said at TechCrunch Disrupt that society will likely accept an AV fatality, but said companies “should be transparent about their safety record” and publish crash data.
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“As the District 9 supervisor, I got a message for the CEO of Waymo from the Mission: the hell we will not [accept any AV-related deaths],” Fielder shot back.
Locals ‘Know Their Streets Best’
AV rules are currently handled by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission. It’s why you can get from San Francisco to Burlingame in one ride, a trip that spans at least seven cities.
There are nine counties in the Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma), and Waymo recently expanded beyond San Francisco down to San Jose in Santa Clara County.
(Credit: Waymo)
If you had local control, service areas could be limited by a patchwork of regulations. But that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from pushing the idea, even before KitKat’s run-in with a Waymo. Last year, state Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat who represents San Jose, introduced SB 915, which sought to “return control to the local communities who know their streets best.”
The bill wanted to let local governments grant permits for AVs and enact new local ordinances, as needed. Cortese also wanted to allow local governments to control robotaxi fares and how many of them could be on the road. SB 915 earned the support of the Teamsters, as well as the California Professional Firefighters Association (a Cruise robotaxi hit a fire truck in 2023) and the Los Angeles Labor Federation, among others. (Waymo also operates Los Angeles.)
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(Credit: hapabapa/Getty Images)
However, there was pushback from those who argued it would be a huge headache to navigate so many different rules and regulations, and Cortese ended up pulling the bill, though he’s still in favor of “clear local oversight,” according to a tweet he posted after KitKat’s death.
Safety First?
Fielder’s district—which includes the Mission, Bernal Heights, the Portola, and the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District—could benefit from increased usage of AVs in three ways:
Parking is more difficult in the Mission district than much of San Francisco. Studies have shown that one-third of traffic in urban cores is cars circling for parking. Private vehicles aren’t in use 95% of the time. That’s a lot of space that could be put to better use.
The Mission has a high concentration of bars. More AVs means more ways for people to get home safely after a night out. BART, the Bay Area’s subway system, stops running two hours before last call.
The Mission has a lot of pedestrians at night. AVs are already shown to be safer.
Waymo has driven 96 million rider-only miles without a human driver as of June 2025, with most of those (29.889 million) in San Francisco.
According to Waymo stats released in September, a Waymo AV has 91% fewer serious injury or fatal crashes, 79% fewer airbag deployments, and 80% fewer injury-causing crashes than a human driver. It also claims 92% fewer pedestrian crashes with injuries, 78% fewer cyclist crashes with injuries, and 89% fewer motorcycle crashes with injuries.
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It does not break out run-ins with our furry friends, but according to insurer State Farm, there are 1.7 million vehicle and animal collision claims a year, most of which involve deer. California is considered a low-risk state for accidents involving animals; West Virginia is number one.
Even with the best technology, the laws of physics still apply. For 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration counted 39,345 deaths in vehicle crashes.
29% of fatalities involved speeding. AVs don’t speed (as of now).
30% involved alcohol impairments. AVs don’t get drunk.
49% of people who died didn’t use seatbelts. AVs won’t move until occupants buckle up.
The numbers exceed 100% because a death can involve multiple causes, but AVs will reduce the numbers in all three categories. Of course, they can’t prevent the other driver from driving drunk.
Progress Crashing Into Politics
In this campaign ad from 13 years ago, a politician is mocked for his support of autonomous vehicles. A Toyota steering wheel is shown turning itself while a senior citizen in a walker tries to cross the street.
The implication is that AVs will kill seniors. The irony is that AVs will empower them because they will face less reliance on others for ordinary tasks. It’s hard to convince many seniors to give up their keys, but AVs will make the roads safer for them and the rest of the public.
Forget about going more local. What we need is federal preemption. How else will we realize the dream of a cross-country AV road trip? Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced bills intended to spur AV adoption, but neither has seen much traction. That’s a shame, because until Congress takes action, AV progress will keep crashing into politics.
Waymo’s robotaxis can now cruise on freeways
About Our Expert
Rakesh Agrawal
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Rakesh is a San Francisco-based entrepreneur and analyst exploring how technology reshapes society. He focuses on the human side of technology, especially AI and autonomous vehicles. Once, he nearly interviewed Richard Branson in a Vegas wedding chapel before being redirected to Branson’s penthouse suite. Read more on his blog.
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