US automated driving policy pushes economic stimulus as much as safety

The US is moving ahead with plans to fast-track autonomous vehicle development through the launch of new federal guidelines. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao hailed the updated guidelines, Automated Driving Systems (ADS): A Vision for Safety 2.0, as a means to not only improve road safety but also safeguard the country's competitive advantage. "Vehicles today already offer many automated features, including autonomous emergency braking, self parking and advanced cruise control, but tomorrow's vehicles will build upon these features to develop increasingly automated driving features. That's why today the department is releasing a Vision for Safety 2.0 to promote improvements in safety, mobility and productivity through automated driving systems," she told media. The Department of Transportation (DoT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) claim that this new guidance builds on previous policy and incorporates feedback received through public comments and Congressional hearings. It is intended to be flexible and evolve with technological advances. A version 3.0 is expected to launch next year. The latest version clears several potential hurdles for OEMs keen to get their tech on the road. It streamlines the self-assessment process for companies and reduces the barriers of regulatory approval ahead of testing. The overall approach is designed to foster innovation as much as possible. "Creativity and innovation are part of the great genius of our country, part of America's hallmark and it's envied throughout the world," said Chao. "We as policy makers have a responsibility to safeguard and nurture this tradition of innovation and creativity..." She went on to emphasise how such a policy would "ensure that our country remains a global leader in autonomous technology." Self Drive Act The updated policy guidance compliments the Self Drive Act, new legislation passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on 6 September. It establishes a framework for the regulation of self-driving vehicles. "While NHTSA cannot write a safety standard to make us all perfect drivers, it can work to advance life-saving technologies – which is the underlying goal of today’s bipartisan legislation," commented Greg Walden, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Just like the Vision for Safety 2.0, this legislation has been hailed as a key economic stimulus measure as well as a safety one. "This bill is also about ensuring America stays a global leader in the development of self-driving technology," added Walden. "After all, the auto industry is responsible for more than seven million jobs nationwide and drives more than US$900bn into the economy each year. We want to see those numbers continue to grow and do what we can to keep these jobs in the US." What the developers want Many industry players have welcomed the guidelines as a missing piece in the wider autonomous puzzle. "There are three major components of making self-driving cars a reality: technology, hardware and regulations. The technology and hardware are rapidly evolving at various companies, but neither will matter if the regulatory element takes forever to get resolved," observed Karl Brauer, Executive Publisher for Autotrader & Kelley Blue Book. "This new set of guidelines from NHSTA is clearly designed to encourage more innovation, more testing and, ultimately, the safe deployment of self-driving cars. Clear guidelines that encourage innovation is what the industry needs as it moves toward the ultimate goal of safer, more efficient personal transportation." Rebecca Lindland, Executive Analyst for Kelley Blue Book, is similarly optimistic. "This is what autonomous vehicle developers have been asking for," she pointed out. "The DOT is clearly focused on safety, but at the same time, NHSTA’s guidelines should provide the flexibility developers want. Importantly, this set of regulations should help prevent a patchwork of state and federal standards, the type of competing regulations that can quickly strangle innovation." Like Chao, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell has been an outspoken supporter of the guidance in part because of how it positions the US at the fore of the autonomous revolution. "It was great to join Secretary Chao in Michigan, the centre of the auto industry, for today’s announcement about the future of automated vehicles," she commented. "Michigan is leading the way in this area with business, academia and federal, state and local governments all working together to test, develop and deploy self-driving vehicles. In my district alone, Mcity and the American Center for Mobility are reshaping what mobility will look like for decades to come. Today’s announcement reaffirms that the 12th District, Michigan and the US will continue to stay in the driver’s seat." Concerns However, there are some groups that are concerned that the push to innovate is, ironically, coming at the cost of road user safety today. Sean Kane, Founder of Safety Research & Strategies, has been very vocal on this front, calling for regulations governing the underlying safety systems behind autonomous cars. "The public has become the guinea pigs for the next business model," he told Automotive World. After all, the auto industry is responsible for more than 7 million jobs nationwide and drives more than US$900bn into the economy each year. We want to see those numbers continue to grow and do what we can to keep these jobs in the US - Greg Walden Consumer Watchdog has also spoken out against what it sees as the push to put autonomous drive technology on public roads before it is fully validated. "This isn’t a vision for safety," argued John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project Director. "It’s a roadmap that allows manufacturers to do whatever they want, wherever and whenever they want, turning our roads into private laboratories for robot cars with no regard for our safety." Among the group's concerns is the division of state and federal responsibility. For instance, it points out that the current guidelines in the state of California require OEMs to file a federal safety assessment with NHTSA but the new guidance says that states should not codify any portion of the voluntary guidance in their regulations. "The DoT and NHTSA ‘Vision for Safety 2.0’ tells auto manufacturers to think about a few things involving robot cars and then do whatever they want," said Simpson. The group is particularly concerned about the lack of guidance on Level 2 technology, a stage at which some driving technology is automated. "This a serious short-coming and ignores the fact that Level 2 technology, like Tesla’s Autopilot, has killed people," he added. Notably, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has just raised fresh concerns over Autopilot. The very same day the Vision for Safety 2.0 was released, the NTSB determined that the operational design of Tesla Autopilot allowed for over-reliance by drivers and in fact was behind the fatal crash of an Ohio man in May last year. "How the human driver monitors and interacts with Level 2 technologies is potentially life threatening and requires Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards," Simpson stated. He is also critical of the DoT's claim that the revised voluntary policy incorporates feedback received through public comments. "This simply isn’t true. There hasn’t been a NHTSA public hearing on autonomous vehicle policy since President Trump was inaugurated and the highly touted DoT Advisory Committee on Automation in Transportation (ACAT) has not even met and has been completely ignored by Trump’s appointees," he pointed out.

US automated driving policy pushes economic stimulus as much as safety

The US government's updated voluntary guidance for autonomous vehicles proves controversial as Megan Lampinen gathers industry reactions

M:bility | Magazine – coming soon

Special report: The car factory of the future

Special report: The future of mobility in Helsinki

Special report: The evolution of the electric bus

Future-proofing to secure the connected automotive ecosystem

M:bility | India

M:bility | California

M:bility | Europe

M:bility | Detroit

Monthly Briefing – August 2018

M:bility | Detroit

Grasp the future of mobility

12-13 March 2019
Dearborn, Michigan

M:bility | Europe

Grasp the future of mobility

9-10 July 2019
Stuttgart, Germany

M:bility | California

Grasp the future of mobility

17-18 September 2019
Santa Clara, CA

M:bility | India

Grasp the future of mobility

26-27 November 2019
Pune, India

It’s time to log in (or subscribe).

Not a member? Subscribe now and let us help you understand the future of mobility.

Single-User Site License

Team Site License

Enterprise Site License

Email Alerts

Related Content

Log In

Single-User
Site License

Team
Site License

Enterprise
Site License