Self-Driving Roadway Safety Requires Industry Leadership
As details continue to emerge about the circumstances surrounding the
fatal tragedy involving a pedestrian and a self-driving Uber in Arizona,
this unfortunate incident raises important questions about the promise
and current limitations of driverless car technology
As details continue to emerge about the circumstances surrounding the
fatal tragedy involving a pedestrian and a self-driving Uber in Arizona,
this unfortunate incident raises important questions about the promise
and current limitations of driverless car technology, and creates an
opportunity to examine the challenge of roadway safety and how to best
leverage this technology to save lives. It’s also critical that we keep
the incident in the appropriate context. Today the United States
experiences an estimated 40,000 traffic deaths per year. Autonomous
vehicle technology is still the key to saving tens of thousands of
lives.Historically, the federal government has closely regulated
automotive safety. This relationship has created public trust that, with
only rare exceptions, cars are worthy of safeguarding our lives and
those of our families. AV technology has enormous potential to save even
more lives and let Americans travel with increased safety wherever they
wish to go. And because of the unique and futuristic nature of AV
technology, public trust will be even more important – and even more
fragile.