Las Vegas—Today, the Commission on Autonomous Vehicle Testing and Safety, a project of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), released a report with recommendations to address public policy and safety issues that have the potential to slow or halt deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs). In light of the significant regulatory challenges facing this rapidly-evolving industry, the Commission presents a number of best-practice recommendations to foster increased collaboration between industry and regulators, and improve public confidence in AV technology.
“The novelty and complexity of autonomous vehicles has created gaps between regulators, industry, and the general public,” said Commission Chairman Mark Rosenker, former Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. “With so much at stake, we urge AV developers to coalesce around common standards, metrics, and commitments to specific safety protocols in advance of widespread deployment and commercialization—as the technology is highly vulnerable in its current nascent state.”
“Autonomous vehicles have the potential to spark the greatest positive change in our society since the industrial revolution,” said SAFE President and CEO Robbie Diamond. “Our current surface transportation system is slow, inefficient, inaccessible to large swaths of the population, and almost singularly fueled by oil—contributing to many of our nation’s economic and foreign policy challenges. Autonomous vehicles will mitigate these issues, and I applaud the Commission for their hard work in addressing the early regulatory and safety challenges. We hope that these are living and breathing recommendations that will be revisited as technology advances and experience is gained.”
The Commission is a committed group of former public officials and safety experts who bring decades of expertise towards their collective goal of improving the safety of early AV deployment, thus expediting the widespread adoption of AV technology. Their recommendations address the potential risks of public opposition and overregulation.
Recommendations Designed to Improve Public Confidence
Recommended Steps Toward an Industry-Driven Regulatory Framework
The members of the Commission on Autonomous Vehicle Testing and Safety are:
About Securing America’s Future Energy
Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization that aims to reduce America’s dependence on oil. Near-total dependence on petroleum in the transportation sector undermines the nation’s economic and national security, and constrains U.S. foreign policy. To combat these threats, SAFE advocates for expanded domestic production of U.S. oil and gas resources, continued improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency, and transportation sector innovations including electric vehicles, natural gas trucks, and autonomous vehicles. In 2006, SAFE joined with General P.X. Kelley (Ret.), 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO of FedEx Corporation, to form the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a group of business and former military leaders committed to reducing the United States’ dependence on oil. Today, the ESLC is co-chaired by Frederick W. Smith and General James T. Conway (Ret), 34th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.
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