A group representing self-driving car companies has called on the U.S. government to take more decisive action to accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles and eliminate barriers to their adoption.
The group, which includes key players such as Ford, Volkswagen, Waymo, Zoox, and Uber, voiced frustration with the federal government’s inaction and its role in creating regulatory uncertainty around autonomous vehicle technology.
Jeff Farrah, executive director of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, stated, “The federal government is the one that needs to lead when it comes to vehicle design, construction and performance, and we just have not seen enough action out of the federal government in recent years.” Farrah also expressed concern that China may surpass the U.S. in autonomous vehicle development if the government does not take a more active role. “We want to make sure there is a clear pathway to getting these next-generation vehicles on the road,” Farrah added.
In its policy framework, the group urged the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to “assert its responsibility over the design, construction, and performance of autonomous vehicles and increase its efforts in key areas.” They also called for Congress to clarify that human controls are unnecessary in autonomous vehicles meeting performance standards and to enable companies to disable manual controls. The group is also advocating for a national AV safety data repository accessible to state transportation agencies.
While some progress has been made, such as the USDOT’s proposal to streamline reviews of self-driving vehicles without human controls, industry leaders are eager for faster action. In response, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reassured that oversight would help the technology meet its potential: “I think being very rigorous in these early stages is helping these technologies start to meet their potential to save lives.”
