WASHINGTON — Auto safety and consumer advocates on Tuesday urged Congress not to advance autonomous vehicle legislation that they say lacks “common sense” safeguards and regulations to protect road users.
“With nearly 43,000 people killed on our nation’s roadways in 2021, it is clear that we need our leaders and policymakers to advance proven solutions to address this public health crisis. There is no independent evidence that AVs will do so,” Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, told reporters during a virtual press event Tuesday.
“In fact, what we do know is that the AVs on public roads have caused havoc,” said Chase, citing one human death and more than a dozen incidents where self-driving cars “put firefighters and the public at risk.”
The criticism comes ahead of a House hearing scheduled for Wednesday to consider separate draft legislation on AVs from Reps. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.
Both bills, though different, would establish a national standard that allows for widespread testing and deployment of AVs, addresses certain safety and security risks and other outstanding issues. Both, too, would raise the cap on exemptions that can be granted to manufacturers of vehicles that do not have traditional controls such as steering wheels or brake pedals. The current cap of 2,500 would be increased up to 100,000 under Latta’s bill, while Dingell’s version would increase it up to 80,000.
Chase said her group does not support either bill in current form.
“Most certainly, any legislation should not erode current federal safety standards, should not allow for tens of thousands of AVs to be exempt from safety regulations, should not restrict states and localities from taking action to protect the residents and visitors, and should not allow AV manufacturers to deploy and sell their vehicles without needed oversight and accountability,” she said.
Last week, more than 20 organizations — including Advocates and the Center for Auto Safety — and former NHTSA chief Joan Claybrook sent a letter to subcommittee leaders opposing the legislation under consideration, citing safety concerns over the “numerous operational failures of faulty AV technology.”
Meanwhile, the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association — whose members include Aurora, Cruise, Ford, Volkswagen, Waymo and Zoox — is urging federal lawmakers to pass AV legislation to compete with China.
“These are surgical steps that will send a strong message to the world that America is determined to be the global leader of the next great technological advancement,” Jeff Farrah, the group’s executive director, wrote in a guest commentary published by Automotive News this week. “Without them, the American AV industry will struggle to take the next leap forward, where we reap the full benefits of increased safety, accessibility and supply chain resilience.”
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most automakers in the U.S. as well as some suppliers and tech companies that are developing AV technologies, also is pressing the Biden administration for action.
“The ability of the U.S. to preserve its leadership in AV technology is in jeopardy due to the lack of a clear federal regulatory approach and framework that supports U.S.-based AV deployment at scale,” Bozzella wrote in a letter sent Monday to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard.
“To maintain the global competitiveness of our auto industry, the federal government must actively support and promote AV development and commercialization in the U.S.,” the letter reads.
In a July 17 letter, four lawmakers — Reps. Dingell and Latta; Tim Walberg, R-Mich.; and Marc Veasey, D-Texas — urged the Biden administration to investigate and limit the operation of AVs made by Chinese companies in the U.S., citing concerns of national security and competitiveness.
Missy Cummings, a former senior safety adviser to NHTSA, pushed back on claims that China is in the lead on AVs.
“Any claims that China is getting ahead of us in the self-driving race, and it’s our onerous federal regulations that are holding companies back from being successful, I mean, these are false and they’re fear-baiting,” said Cummings, who is a professor at George Mason University’s College of Engineering and Computing.
Previous legislative attempts have stalled in Congress, with lawmakers generally supportive of a federal framework but divided over various legal and consumer matters.
Ongoing pushback from groups representing consumers, trial lawyers and transportation unions also have impeded legislative efforts.
In an interview Tuesday with Automotive News, Dingell said she and Latta are committed to passing legislation this year, and Wednesday’s hearing is one step toward finding common ground.
“What we really want to do is we want to know what stakeholders like, what they don’t like, what’s missing and what should be struck,” she said. “We need to move this forward. Quite frankly, we are behind.”
Latta renewed efforts in 2020 to push legislation through Congress by reintroducing the Self Drive Act, which would establish a federal framework to ensure the safety of AVs while exempting them from certain national safety standards and preempting states from enacting laws regarding these vehicles.
The bill was passed unanimously by the House in 2017. A complementary bill — the AV Start Act — was later introduced in the Senate. Both bills stalled there in 2018.
NHTSA this year established the Office of Automation Safety to focus on automated driving systems and other advanced vehicle technologies.
“The office will be responsible for developing the next generation of safety standards, evaluating and processing petitions, managing exemptions, and developing and managing special programs for research, demonstrations and data,” NHTSA said in a statement.
The agency also is expected to issue a proposed rule-making this fall on the ADS-equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency and Evaluation Program, or AV STEP, that would provide an alternate regulatory avenue for deploying self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads.
While the exact number of vehicles allowed remains to be determined, industry experts expect it to be substantially more than the 2,500-vehicle maximum currently permitted through a process that allows companies to request an exemption from federal motor vehicle safety standards.
The new program could be a big help to General Motors in particular. The automaker submitted an exemption request for its Cruise Origin robotaxi in February 2022 and is awaiting a decision from U.S. Department of Transportation officials.
NHTSA said it will provide GM with an answer “soon.”
Pete Bigelow contributed to this report.
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