02 May 2019, US, San Francisco: A self-propelled car of the General Motors company Cruise is on a … [+]
In the nation’s capital, it is a rare sight for all the players in an industry, large and small, to come together and ask for new regulations. The relationship between regulator and regulated can sometimes be adversarial at worst, tense at best. But in the case of automated vehicles (AVs) – a technology whose driving philosophy is reducing roadway deaths and injuries – it has become a shared priority to create a federal regulatory framework to assure safety.
But building a regulatory framework for a nascent technology is challenging work: it requires a certain degree of flexibility, gathering a lot of input, and no small amount of elbow grease.
Since the beginning of this year, Congressional committees have been engaged in a bipartisan and bicameral initiative to develop AV legislation that will create a path to deployment to ensure companies continue to develop this life-saving and life-changing technology here in the U.S. A federal framework is needed to ensure the safety and mobility benefits AVs promise to deliver happen here at home, rather than abroad.
In pursuit of such a bill, staffers on the House Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee requested input from stakeholders on what the bill should address this August. The response from industry, nonprofits, and disability advocates was significant: they reportedly received letters from well over 100 organizations.
After reviewing these letters, Republicans and Democrats on both committees worked hand-in-hand to draft a consensus-driven AV bill that would provide for the safe and expeditious development of AVs, while helping to ensure that they would fulfill their promise of significant social and economic benefits.
On Monday, House and Senate committee staff circulated draft legislative text for three sections of the bill that addressed federal advisory committees, AV testing expansions, and exemptions to allow for vehicles with novel designs. In an email to stakeholders, staff emphasized that this is just the first tranche of text, indicating more sections are soon to follow.
As Congress moves forward on drafting this legislation, it is useful to understand the history of the last AV bills and the importance of federal AV legislation writ large.
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 30: Fall foliage is on display in front of the U.S. Capitol on October 30, … [+]
In the previous Congress, a wide range of policymakers and organizations rallied behind two bipartisan bills: SELF DRIVE in the House (HR 3388), and AV START in the Senate (S. 1886). These historic, comprehensive bills would have established a unified federal framework for AV safety and set timelines for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to publish safety standards for AVs – neither of which exist today.
We might live in divided times, but the promise of AVs breeds remarkable unity. The House passed their bill (H.R. 3388, the SELF DRIVE Act) unanimously through subcommittee and committee – and then passed by a voice vote on the House floor, with no recorded votes against it. Months later, the Senate Commerce Committee moved their bill (S. 1885, the AV START Act) through Committee in November 2017, also with unanimous support.
The expectation was that the Senate would bring AV START to the floor, which would then allow the House and Senate to reconcile the differences between their two bills and pass it before the end of December 2018. Unfortunately, AV START became embroiled in proxy battles and misconceptions that prevented it from reaching the Senate floor – leading to the failure of both bills to be enacted before the end of the 115th Congress.
As a result, the U.S. was left without a comprehensive federal policy framework for AVs – which only exacerbated regulatory uncertainty in the AV industry and further delayed the creation of a regulatory framework for AVs. The hope is that this new initiative will garner even wider support in Congress and among stakeholders, leading to the passage of an historic bill that will help to fulfill the promise of AVs to deliver safe, accessible, and more efficient transportation.
