Are Self-Driving Cars Kosher? San Francisco Rabbis Weigh In as Robotaxis Flood the City’s Streets

(JTA)- Ask a rabbi about self-driving cars and you’d better be ready for a long answer. Self-driving cars — also known as robotaxis, autonomous vehicles or driverless cars — with their whirring sensors and their odd, almost tentative movements, have become a familiar sight on the streets of San Francisco. If self-driving cars react to a passenger’s weight or position, that alone might rule them out for Shabbat use among observant Jews. If “pre-arranged and prepaid,” she said, self-driving cars could be “more ideal” on Shabbat than someone driving even an electric car. So how do self-driving cars really work?