WASHINGTON, July 27, 2023 – Witnesses at an Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Wednesday joined lawmakers in pushing for congressional action on establishing a comprehensive federal framework for self-driving vehicles, after several years of regulatory stagnation.

In her opening remarks, Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-WA, highlighted the importance of advancing US leadership in the field of autonomous vehicles, which can help drive down traffic fatalities, support people with disabilities, and strengthen US technological competitiveness, particularly over China, she said.

Despite these possibilities, the federal regulatory landscape has not been able to catch up with innovation, said John Bozzella, president of trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

The absence of a national standard has led to “a labyrinth of state laws and regulations” which spurs uncertainty among companies and hampers deployment and innovation, warned Bozzella. To that end, he urged Congress to swiftly pass a bipartisan, “balanced federal AV framework” that includes “safeguards, oversight, rules and regulations” to govern the future of autonomous vehicle technology.

“It’s rare that somebody from the private sector comes to plead for their businesses to be regulated by the federal government, but this is exactly what we are seeking,” he said.

Lawmakers have taken a shot at regulating autonomous vehicles in 2017 with the SELF DRIVE Act introduced by Rep. Robert Latta, R-OH, which would have established a national regulatory framework for automated vehicles and encourage the testing and deployment of the technology. The bill passed both the committee and the House but stalled in the Senate.

That legislation now makes up the bulk of legislation considered during Wednesday hearing, along with another bill drafted by Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-MI, to strengthen safety rules regarding automated vehicles and hold manufacturers accountable for adhering to those standards.

“I don’t believe anyone thought we would be back to square one today in 2023, re-examining similar legislation that had previously passed the House unanimously, and that many members of this Committee on both sides cosponsored,” said Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis, R-FL.

Gary Shapiro, president of trade group Consumer Technology Association, said a large number of exemptions should be granted so that companies can start testing new vehicle designs and safety features. Currently, manufacturers are only allowed to deploy up to 2500 vehicles for testing on a temporary basis, a constraint he said would limit the scalability of the technology in the future.

However, Philip Koopman, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, sounded a cautionary note regarding “overly-permissive” regulations that would allow vehicle manufacturers to “cut corners on safety.” He argued that automated vehicles are not “a silver bullet for safety” because computer drivers do not necessarily make fewer mistakes than human drivers but rather in different ways.

“If we want to still have an automated vehicle industry in the future, Congress needs to act to require transparency, accountability, and adoption of the industry’s own safety standards,” he said.

The hearing took place against a backdrop of growing dissatisfaction among industry groups and AV advocates regarding the slow-paced regulatory process for driverless transportation technology. Government officials explained that taking time for regulation is necessary to ensure public safety.

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2023 – Experts in automated vehicles are urging regulators to approve the implementation of cellular vehicle-to-everything technology, warning a lengthy regulatory process could stifle innovation.

In April, the Federal Communications Commission approved a joint waiver by 14 automakers and equipment manufacturers to use CV2X technology in the 5.9 GHz transportation safety band after nearly two years of review. Since then, numerous similar applications have been submitted and due to review.

“The point of filing was to say, we don’t have time to wait until you finish with the rule making, FCC,” said Suzanne Tetreault, partner at the law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, a counsel to the 5G Automotive Association.

The industry’s shift from dedicated short-range communication to CV2X has prompted authorities to figure clear guidelines on the use of this emerging technology. While both allow for vehicles to broadcast signals, CV2X enables more robust connection between vehicles and infrastructure through high-speed cellular networks such as the 5G wireless standard.

These signals can be used to avoid collisions, traffic congestion and support the development of driverless vehicles.

The FCC is currently working with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Transportation to come up with final rules for the widespread use of CV2X technology in addition to spectrum allocation.

Charles Cooper, associate administrator from the NTIA, explained that regulators need to find “a common basis for technical evaluation,” saying “it may take time and effort, but the payoff is tremendous.”

Karen Van Dyke, a spectrum management official at the Department of Transportation, added taking time for regulation is necessary to ensure “zero fatalities.”

Experts in the field, however, pointed out that it is unrealistic to guarantee total safety before moving to the implementation phase. Instead, regulators should aim for more attainable, short-term goals or “low-hanging fruits.”

“You don’t have to solve the problems 100 percent,” said Bryan Mulligan, president of Applied Information Inc. “Let’s focus on vision 50 – how can we get 50 percent of the fatalities saved in the next five years.”

Trial and error are the only way to generate the innovation and data necessary to guarantee safety, according to experts.

“The key thing is moving quick to get deployed and taking those advantages to feed information to the other vehicles,” said John Kuzin, vice president of spectrum policy and regulatory counsel at chips maker Qualcomm.

Meanwhile, the FCC is still waiting to regain its spectrum licensing authority, which has expired for the first time in the agency’s history.

LAS VEGAS, January 5, 2022 – Public-private partnerships are the key to realizing the future of smart cities, a transportation expert said at the CES2022 technology trade show here on Wednesday.

To make cities and transportation truly “smart,” industry stakeholders must ensure that technologies enabling autonomous vehicles are fast and ubiquitously deployed.

Blaine Leonard, transportation technology engineer for Utah’s department of transportation, said at a session on “Smart Cities and Transportation” that public safety was his office’s top priority when working to connect autonomous vehicles to physical infrastructure.

“As a state agency, people often ask us why we are interested in automated vehicles, and the bottom line is safety,” he said.

“We lost 40,000 people to car crashes in 2020,” noting how 97% of all crashes are caused in part by human error.  “As an agency, our focus is zero –– we want to get to zero fatalities.”

Leonard discussed how low latency and data speeds are critical to connecting vehicles to traffic systems. “From a state agency perspective, if we’re going to prevent crashes, we need that millisecond advantage.”

However, he stressed that harder-to-reach places may have to wait longer for these services. “That technology is important,” he said. “How quickly it’ll be here depends on where you are.”

While industry leaders push for faster deployment, Leonard says “It’ll take a number of years, maybe even a decade or two, to update all traffic systems” across the country.