T4America Blog

News, press releases and other updates

Posts Tagged "automated vehicles"

Everything we liked (and didn’t like) at Buttigieg’s Transportation Secretary confirmation hearing

Last Thursday, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg faced the Senate for questioning on his nomination to be Secretary of Transportation. We liked almost all of his answers, and we weren’t alone: Senator Tester said Buttigieg’s testimony was “refreshing.” Here’s what T4America liked and didn’t like from Buttigieg’s confirmation hearing.

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The NTSB recommends safety standards for AVs. But Congress isn’t listening.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found in two investigations that the lack of safety standards contributed to fatal automated vehicle crashes. And polling shows that Americans overwhelmingly want these safety standards. There’s both evidence that safety standards are needed, and a desire among the public to establish them: so why isn’t Congress including safety standards in its draft automated vehicle (AV) legislation?

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“Voluntary safety assessments” for automated vehicles will result in more deaths

The National Transportation Safety Board agrees with us on automated vehicle safety: making safety assessments “voluntary” utterly fails to ensure public safety—and at least one person has already died as a result. The federal government’s current hands-off approach is incredibly unsafe for everyone except the bottom line of companies rushing to put unready driverless cars on the road. 

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Broad coalition takes the offensive on federal automated vehicle policy

Instead of waiting for Congress to release a new bill to regulate autonomous vehicles worse than last year’s notorious AV START Act, T4America joined a diverse coalition of safety, public health, consumer, and transportation groups to urge lawmakers to take a smarter approach than last year’s reckless hands-off approach for the driverless car industry. 

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Ten things to know about USDOT’s new framework to guide the future of automated vehicles

28 Nov 2018 | Posted by | 0 Comments | , , ,

The USDOT’s newly released policy guidance for automated vehicles is consistent with Congress’ attempts to limit regulations and give private industry carte blanche to operate mostly in secret with little public oversight.

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Fundamentally flawed bill to govern automated vehicles springs back to life

After being shelved earlier this year in response to widespread concerns about its hands-off approach to automated vehicles, a Senate bill that would leave cities, states, and the public in the dark while handing the keys to the self-driving auto industry has returned in the 11th hour, with the Senate considering a move to expedite its passage by attaching it to a huge must-pass aviation bill.

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Setting effective data standards for new mobility providers

When transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft came into cities earlier this decade, they refused to share data with cities, which has presented a major challenge for cities trying to assess their impacts. As new modes such as bikeshare, microtransit, and automated vehicles enter our communities, will this happen again?

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T4America Statement on Senate Commerce AV START Markup

press release

On Wednesday, October 4, the Senate Commerce Committee marked up and approved the American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act. Beth Osborne, senior policy advisor for T4America, offered this statement in response.

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Senate revises bill on automated vehicles but fails to address the primary concerns of cities and states

press release

On Wednesday, October 4, the Senate Commerce Committee will mark up the American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act. A revised draft was released by the committee on September 29.

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Take action on Senate automated vehicles bill that would would leave cities, states, and the public in the dark

Congress is on the cusp of passing the very first federal law to regulate automated vehicles (AVs). Unfortunately, a Senate committee has produced a law that would leave cities, states, and the public in the dark while handing the keys to the industry.

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Federal approach to regulating automated vehicles described as a “giveaway to the industry”

After producing draft legislation for discussion last week, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing this week about automated vehicles (AVs) and some of the witnesses’ testimony highlighted the numerous problems with the committee’s approach that would hand the keys to automakers, kick cities to the curb, and threaten the safety of millions.

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Senate automated vehicles legislation would jeopardize the safety of millions and leave cities and states on the side of the road

Transportation for America (T4A), and the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) issued the following response to the released Senate discussion draft of the American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act.

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House abdicates methodical policymaking for new regulations on automated vehicles

Congress has taken the first major legislative step to encourage & govern the roll-out of automated vehicles, passing the SELF DRIVE Act of 2017 by a voice vote today. Unfortunately, the House only consulted a narrow range of stakeholders like automakers and technology companies to produce this flawed legislation.

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The House takes its first crack at automated vehicle legislation

As self-driving technology advances toward becoming an everyday fixture in our lives, Congress is beginning to consider regulations to govern how they’ll be tested, how they’ll operate and how to ensure they’ll be safe for everyone. But are they taking the right approach?

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