proven and converges,” it has created new standards. In the past, standards for technology such as enhanced air bags and electronic stability control have taken years to work through the process. That will have to change as vehicles can advance minute by minute through wire- less software updates, he said. “Those expecting DOT and NHTSA
to issue 16,000 pages of regulations in the coming weeks will be disappointed, or perhaps more likely, relieved,” he said, adding that the agency’s new approach is designed to be “nimble and flexible.”
Rosekind said his agency will not
move forward until automated vehicles are “much safer” than human drivers, but how much safer is not yet known. Moreover, it’s not clear how to define what “safer” actually is – fewer crashes, fewer fatalities, or what? “If an autonomous vehicle slams
on the brakes, leading the car behind it to tap its bumper, is that a crash? Or is that a life saved, because the autono- mous vehicle didn’t hit the kid who just ran in front of it?” he asked. Despite the challenges, Rosekind
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offered a hopeful description of the technology’s possibilities, explaining that 35,200 Americans died on the road in 2015, 94 percent of them related to human choice or error. He said NHTSA estimates that 613,501 lives have been saved because of auto safety technolo- gies over the last 50 years. “We see a future where vehicle
automation and vehicle connectivity could cut roadway fatalities dramati- cally,” he said. Aside from technology and regula-
tions, other changes will be coming. Insurance will certainly change. Driver privacy will be an issue. Another issue is security. Could
an autonomous truck – or, even worse, a fleet of them – be attacked wire- lessly and even brought under someone else’s control? Scott points to situa- tions where a truck was used in a ter- roristic act, including the Oklahoma City bombing and the recent attack in Nice, France, where a truck was driven through a crowd. As autonomous vehicles become
more common, drivers will become more comfortable with the technol- ogy. One concern would be that they would become too comfortable. For the foreseeable future, a self-driving vehicle will still need a driver ready to take the wheel if the situation warrants. Scott believes the trucking industry
will react appropriately and continue doing what it has always done, which is train drivers to be safe. The nature of that training will just have to change. Years ago, the commercial airline indus- try began adopting autopilot technolo- gies, and pilots learned how and when to rely on it. He expects the same from motor carriers. “I don’t think there will be any loss
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in driver professionalism as a result of advanced driver technologies,” he said. “I think we’re only going to make them better and safer. And if we aren’t, we aren’t doing it. We probably won’t go there. … If safety of this technology becomes an issue, we’ll be against it. It’s that simple.” ATR
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