Skip to main content

Senators tell NHTSA to make way for self-driving cars

US Senators Cory A. Booker and Deb Fisher, members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, have sent a bipartisan letter to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administrator Mark Rosekind to request an update on agency policies related to automated vehicle technology and to urge the NHTSA to embrace policies that promote innovation in and the improved safety benefits of the technology. “These technologies promise to significantly reduce roadway accidents, shorten
March 23, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
US Senators Cory A. Booker and Deb Fisher, members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, have sent a bipartisan letter to 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administrator Mark Rosekind to request an update on agency policies related to automated vehicle technology and to urge the NHTSA to embrace policies that promote innovation in and the improved safety benefits of the technology.

“These technologies promise to significantly reduce roadway accidents, shorten commutes, and increase productivity for the American people in the coming years. We look forward to working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to accelerate the safety benefits of this technology and encourage states as they consider its potential,” the senators wrote.

In order to ensure that Congress effectively partners with the NHTSA, the senators requested answers to questions such as : what steps the NHTSA is taking towards finalising a policy on automated vehicles that embraces innovation and improved safety benefits; How NHTSA is providing guidance to states on the safe exploration of this new technology; What guidance NHTSA is providing to industry on the submission of requests for interpretation regarding the application of FMVSS to autonomous vehicle technologies; and hat barriers exist to the research and integration of autonomous vehicles that Congress could address.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • China paves way to enhanced safety with C-V2X
    September 30, 2021
    China is blazing a trail for C-V2X technology and paving the way for deployments worldwide, explains Qualcomm Technologies' Jim Misener
  • Rail industry, regulators debate feasibility of PTC
    March 10, 2014
    US rail industry officials and federal accident regulators have disagreed about the viability of a looming mandate that most US railways be equipped with automated control systems by the end of next year. Congress is requiring that most major railroad companies install automated systems known as positive train control (PTC) by December 2015. Automated train systems have gained renewed attention after a spate of high-profile accidents on passenger and freight railways, including most recently a Decem
  • Grey areas: who's legally responsible for C/AVs?
    October 22, 2018
    Connected and autonomous vehicles are an exciting development in the ITS sector – but amid the hype some big questions about their deployment remain unanswered, finds Ben Spencer Connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs) have the potential to change the way we travel - and to eliminate road fatalities. But policy makers and regulators will need to ensure user and public safety is included in future planning. The legal and insurance industries will have to catch up, too. For example, questions over who is
  • Kurtis McBride, Miovision: 'Digitalisation opens up opportunity'
    April 26, 2023
    Kurtis McBride, Miovision co-founder and CEO, talks about the importance of data – and why one bit of hardware capable of running a range of software solutions could be the future of transportation