What They Are Saying: U.S. DOT Announces Latest Federal Guidance on Autonomous Vehicles
What They Are Saying:
U.S. DOT Announces Latest Federal Guidance on Autonomous Vehicles
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA):
"With the new AV 3.0 guidelines, Sec. Elaine L. Chao has focused on road and driver safety while leaving room for industry innovation. This approach will solidify our nation's global leadership in self-driving technologies at a time when other countries are trying to duplicate the United States' success. The promise of self-driving technology should encourage all levels of government to collaborate with industry and stakeholders to educate the public about the benefits the technology offers, save lives on our roads and ease traffic congestion.
"We look forward to working with the Trump Administration in building strong federal leadership to maintain America's position as a global innovation champion."
60-Plus Association
Founder and Chairman James Martin:
“Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao deserves a lot of credit for her department’s plan to accelerate efforts to bring self-driving cars to market. By expanding development and road testing of AVs across the entire nation instead of just 10 cities, Secretary Chao is putting these new vehicles on a faster track to becoming a day-to-day reality.
“Secretary Chao also hit the nail on the head by recognizing what a tremendous boon autonomous vehicles will be to seniors and the disabled. AVs would allow unprecedented levels of mobility, safety and freedom to those who are homebound or otherwise unable to enjoy the pleasures of private transportation so many of us take for granted. We look forward to coming advancements in self-driving cars consistent with safety and reliable technology, and we are excited about working with Secretary Chao and her department to make this technology of the future a reality.”
American Trucking Associations (ATA):
"This is a sound and substantive framework that rightly recognizes commercial vehicles are essential to any serious AV policy," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "In reaching out to a broad group of stakeholders, the Department should be commended for its thoughtful approach, which will enable an informed decision-making process around new and emerging technologies.
"Thanks to Secretary Chao's leadership, this guidance ensures that technological progress will not outpace the formation of key safety policy – and will enable America to maintain our role as world leaders both in innovation and in developing this framework. We look forward to working with the Secretary and FMCSA Administrator Martinez as this initiative rolls forward, and to having trucking's voice as a vital contributor throughout this process."
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy:
Big news today for driverless cars - @USDOT releases "Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0," voluntary guidance to help bring AVs in the transportation system safely, reliably, and cost-effectively.
General Motors in Wards Auto:
In a statement to Wards, GM says it supports the new guidelines. “General Motors commends the Department of Transportation and Secretary Elaine Chao on issuing new guidance for the safe development and deployment of self-driving vehicles. AV 3.0 provides continued guidance for the safe development, design, manufacture and deployment of self-driving vehicles, and provides new guidance for autonomous technology in other modes of transportation.”
John Bozzella , President and CEO, Global Automakers:
“The Association of Global Automakers (Global Automakers) welcomes the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) release of its Automated Driving Systems (ADS) 3.0. The guidance is the right step at the right time to facilitate the safe introduction of life-saving automated vehicle technology.
“We are also encouraged that the DOT acknowledged the significant safety benefits of vehicle-to-vehicle communications using the dedicated 5.9 GHz DSRC safety spectrum, an important building block toward deployment of automated vehicles.”
House Energy & Commerce Chairman Greg Walden and Rep. Bob Latta:
“We applaud DOT’s continued commitment to getting safe and innovative self-driving cars on America’s roadways, and share in the urgency for a unified safety framework across state lines. The U.S. is at a critical point in the development of this life-saving technology, and if we can’t get policy on the books, we stand to lose jobs, investment, and innovation to other countries. Today’s updated federal guidance demonstrates America is ready to lead the world in the development of self-driving cars, and we look forward to working with DOT and our Senate colleagues to ensure the momentum continues.”
Robbie Diamond, CEO of Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE):
“SAFE commends 3.0’s forward-leaning approach on automation, particularly in the heavy-duty space, the leadership of U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and the impressive work by staff as they continue to prioritize AVs and improve upon these vital policies that encourage innovation and maintain America’s leadership,” said Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of Securing America’s Future Energy. “Autonomous driving systems and vehicles are critical technologies with the potential to spur some of the greatest improvements to society since the Industrial Revolution, and it’s equally important to understand the impacts to the American economy and workforce. The administration’s clarification of a “driver” has removed barriers to innovation in the heavy-duty space. SAFE looks forward to more closely reviewing this document, and sharing additional findings with policymakers and regulators to allow for the successful development and deployment of both heavy- and light-duty autonomous vehicles.”
Mitch Bainwol, president, Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers:
“Secretary Chao and the Department of Transportation should be commended for again spurring the development of innovative safety technologies, including self-driving vehicle technologies that hold great promise for our nation.
The updated AV Policy Guidance (3.0) builds on previous guidance Secretary Chao released last September – which has provided greater clarity to auto manufacturers and technology providers working to develop cutting-edge technologies that can enhance roadway safety, expand mobility, and ensure that the U.S. continues to lead the development, testing, and deployment of life saving technologies.
The Department’s inclusion of other modes of transportation in this updated, and technology neutral AV Policy Guidance, demonstrates the tremendous potential these technologies offer for the future of transportation. The Alliance and our members look forward to reviewing the updated guidance and the forthcoming AV testing initiative that will be open to public comment. As in the past, we look forward to working with the Secretary and the Department of Transportation to ensure that safety continues to be the number one priority when it comes to the development, testing, and deployment of such technologies.”
Telecommunication Industry Association:
“Today’s @USDOT’s AV Policy Guidance 3.0 announcement is a great step forward for spurring the development of #autonomousvehicles. This updated guidance provides greater clarity to auto & tech companies to address safety, security & privacy while not hampering innovation.”
Carl Szabo, Vice President, NetChoice, in the Washington Examiner:
The Transportation Department's guideline revisions "will drive the autonomous vehicle industry to innovate while maintaining public safety,” Carl Szabo, vice president at NetChoice, a trade association for e-commerce businesses, wrote in a statement.
Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Marc Scribner:
“The Department of Transportation should be applauded for its latest automated vehicle guidance update. Its commitment to technology neutrality, performance-based regulation, and modernizing safety regulations to conform to future voluntary consensus technical standards will help ensure developers can bring their lifesaving and efficiency-enhancing technologies to market without being ensnared in a web of unnecessary red tape.
“CEI looks forward to continued work with the Department to promote pro-market and pro-consumer automated vehicle policies and spread the many potential benefits across America’s multi-modal surface transportation system, from cars and buses to trucks and trains.”
Intelligent Transportation Society of America President and CEO Shailen Bhatt:
“The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is encouraged by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s support for V2X in “Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0,” the guidance it released today for automated driving systems. Vehicle-to-everything communications, known as V2X, allows vehicles to communicate with other vehicles, road users, and the infrastructure. Regardless of technology, preserving the safety spectrum (5.9 GHz band) to enable V2X communications is and should remain the top priority to support our shared goal of saving lives on U.S. roadways.
In addition, the Department’s plan to update safety standards and streamline and modernize the exemption approval process for automated vehicles is a positive step forward. We also applaud the Department’s emphasis on not just ‘curb-to-curb’ but ‘door-to-door’ travel, which will allow people with disabilities and older adults more independence by providing better access to jobs, education and healthcare.”
Illinois AV Association:
We welcome the @USDOT Automated Vehicles 3.0 report and are excited about what it means for the progress of #CAV technology in transforming #mobility.
Partnership for Transportation Innovation & Opportunity:
“Our members welcome today's announcement from @SecElaineChao and look forward to working w/ @USDOT, @USDOL, @CommerceGov + @HHSGov as they study the potential impact of #AVs on our nation’s workforce and identify the variety of job opportunities that will be created.” #OurAVFuture
Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA):
Director of Policy and Government Relations Russ Martin:
“The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) congratulates the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) on its automated vehicles policy guidance 3.0 and its ongoing effort to promote a national policy framework for these new safety technologies. GHSA also thanks U.S. DOT for gathering input and keeping the safety community apprised as it developed this new guidance.
Earlier this year, GHSA documented the many traffic safety issues that automated vehicles (AVs) pose for the states. These include considering how traffic laws and programs might change with the introduction of AVs, law enforcement preparation, and public acceptance. Public surveys suggest that many drivers are apprehensive about automated vehicles, despite their expected safety benefits. Industry, government, and safety groups need to work together not only to promote the use of this new safety technology but also ensure that the public will use it safely and as intended.
To prepare for AVs, among other recommendations, GHSA suggests states consider licensing and traffic law changes, educate the public about this technology, and establish and implement training programs on AVs for law enforcement officers.
As U.S. DOT has noted, we will likely experience a mix of automated and non-automated technologies on our roads for decades, maybe forever. As human behavior will continue to cause crashes, the nation needs to not only prepare for and deploy safe automation technology but also to continue significant investment in proven education, engineering, and enforcement countermeasures so that we can build on the reduction in fatal crashes recently announced for 2017 and the first half of 2018.”
R Street Institute:
The R Street Institute welcomes the release of “Automated Vehicles 3.0: Preparing for the Future of Transportation”, the updated automated driving systems policy guidance document from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). The non-binding guidance is largely in keeping with the vision foreshadowed by Secretary Elaine Chao in her March 1 remarks at USDOT’s “AV Summit” insofar as it focuses on department-wide adoption of regulatory principles that are applicable across all major modalities of surface transportation – from passenger vehicles to heavy trucks, to freight rail. It represents another crucial step toward the deployment of these life-saving technologies.
The revamped document continues in the vein of “Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety”, which outlined a regulatory vision for the safe development of HAVs, while explaining the various roles that federal and state governments have in the regulation of HAVs, and resolved confusion created by the original federal automated vehicles policy (FAVP) guidance about its legal significance.
Where this new guidance document differs is not only a matter of scope, but also specificity by addressing the actual deployment of the technology across all modes of surface transportation. The document also provides regulatory clarity by outlining more specifically which sub-agencies will provide future guidance on each category of transportation method.
The secretary also announced today that the agency will be taking an important step in educating the public by partnering with the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Commerce to further study the prospects of worker automation and issue positive recommendations both employees and employers can take today to begin preparing.
“Highly automated technologies hold exciting potential for all modes of transportation, not just automobiles. AV 3.0 recognizes this, and the vital necessity of embracing all modes of transportation – from freight rail to heavy truck applications – that will be transformed by the further introduction of automation,” R Street Senior Fellow Ian Adams said. “In the absence of federal legislation specific to highly-automated vehicles, USDOT is wise to continue to refine its guidance while also addressing best practices for state and local governments as they work on practical HAV implementation projects happening around the country.”
This multimodal approach to AV 3.0 involves multiple agencies coordinating to identify and address regulatory barriers to HAV deployment and execute pilot programs to close research gaps. Such an approach is vital as the agency embraces the regulatory principals of remaining “tech neutral” and providing a “consistent regulatory and operational environment”. In the past, a lack of coordination has lead sub-agencies like NHTSA and FMCSA to take very different approaches to the technology applied in similar domains.
As USDOT moves forward with the advanced notice of rulemaking process and considers comments from a wide variety of stakeholders, we applaud the agency for their forward-looking regulatory principles and emphasis on voluntary guidance. The United States has a strong lead in HAV technology internationally, and the agency’s consistently pro-innovation regulatory framework over the past few years has played a large role.