After every presidential election, one of the major questions people ask is whether or not the President-elect will support new technology that is being developed. This election, the very same question is being asked to President Donald Trump, regarding his opinion on self-driving technology. Recently, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and several representatives from several major motor-vehicle associates, including General Motors, Volvo, Toyota, and Lyft, met to discuss the road to making self-driving technologies a reality in everyday life. Senator Gary Peters and John Thune, are attempting to launch “a joint effort to explore legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-driving vehicle technology.”
One of the major arguments supporters of self-driving technologies in Congress are using is safety. Mike Abelson, the vice president of global strategy at General Motors, used a tragic incident that involved an employee’s son dying in a traffic accident to solicit a positive reaction towards self-driving technology from Congress. Steve Kiefer is the employee of General Motors who lost his son when he was returning from college when he was killed instantly by a distracted driver. Abelson went on to say that the accident was avoidable given the technology that is being produced to combat human error in accidents. To prove this Abelson provided the statistics regarding vehicle fatalities and injuries: “10 percent of vehicle fatalities and 18 percent of injuries in crashes are due to distracted driving. More than 30 percent of fatalities involve a drunk driver, and 28 percent of fatal crashes were speed-related. Vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for children and adults ages 4 to 34.” With these statistics and the fact that 94% of vehicle collisions being caused by human error create a very strong argument for the need of self-driving technology.
Although several members of Congress are vocal about the need for self-driving technology, President Trump himself has not mentioned much about advanced automotive technology. Trump’s newly appointed Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has reassured automakers by claiming that they will be given space to develop self-driving technology and cars for the future. New laws must be made as current laws only apply to motor vehicles that have a driver at all times. As a result, the rapid innovation of this technology has decelerated. It may take years to create a fully functional system of regulation that would facilitate self-driving cars as a viable solution to the constant threat of human error when driving. Volvo and Lyft representatives also agree with Abelson’s message. Lyft is attempting to “operate a pilot in a major this year that will permit consumers to enjoy, for the first time, a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle.” Although this may seem very difficult to accomplish due to regulations not being up to date with the technology that these companies are producing. The major mode vehicle companies already have access to advanced technology they need to make self-driving vehicles a widespread reality, but without the proper permission in the form of regulations, they are not able to obtain the certification they need.
The push for self-driving vehicles has never been as strong as it is today. We face an issue that is rather unusual. Instead of the technology needed to make widespread self-driving vehicles a reality, the missing component is the need for regulation to allow for such technology to exist. This is going to be a problem in the future as well, so a decision made today will affect the availability of future technology in the future. Congress and innovators are coalescing their efforts to bring this technology to the road and potentially saves thousands of lives and bring the rate of collision to a minimal level.
