After the crash: NTSB investigations must be factored into AV testing

In 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released Automated Driving Systems (ADS): A Vision for Safety 2,and in it called on industry, state and local governments, safety and mobility advocates and the public to “lay the path for the deployment of automated vehicles and technologies.”

However, as automated vehicles (AV) continue to deploy into the transportation infrastructure, the likelihood of traffic incidents resulting in a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation increase, as evidenced by the May 2016 and March 2018 fatal AV crashes in Williston, Florida and Tempe, Arizona, and the March 2017 and January 2018 non-fatal AV crashes in Phoenix, Arizona and Culver City, California.