Skip to main content

Leaders call for US to accelerate autonomous cars

A group seeking to improve American oil security through domestic production, fuel competition, driverless technology and anti-cartel measures has called on policymakers to remove regulatory hurdles in order to accelerate the deployment of self-driving cars, as well as revise tax incentives to boost sales of less expensive electric vehicles. Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), chaired by FedEx Corporation chairman, president and CEO Frederick W. Smith and retired US Marine Corps Commandant James Con
May 20, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A group seeking to improve American oil security through domestic production, fuel competition, driverless technology and anti-cartel measures has called on policymakers to remove regulatory hurdles in order to accelerate the deployment of self-driving cars, as well as revise tax incentives to boost sales of less expensive electric vehicles.

Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), chaired by FedEx Corporation chairman, president and CEO Frederick W. Smith and retired US Marine Corps Commandant James Conway, has released a report, recommending the removal of federal regulatory obstacles to the deployment of autonomous vehicles and allow broad commercialisation once they are as safe as today’s cars.

The report also recommends that federal rules on autonomous vehicles should pre-empt state standards and regulation on automotive safety should evolve to a more flexible and collaborative model based on performance-based standards.

It also proposes the establishment of autonomous vehicle deployment communities to test the technology and encourage public engagement.

These recommendations were supplemented with policy recommendations to accelerate the adoption of advanced fuel vehicles powered by diverse energy sources, including restructuring federal tax incentive for electric vehicles to remove the 200,000 vehicle-per-manufacturer cap and phase down beginning in 2021.

SAFE also proposes reducing the value of the federal electric vehicle tax credit for vehicles over US$40,000 and removing it completely for vehicles over US$55,000.

“We’re on the cusp of the largest ground transportation transformation since the invention of the Model T, and we must ensure that unnecessary and outdated regulations don’t encumber its potential. Through a wholly new value proposition that promises a fundamental shift in how we move people and goods, autonomous vehicles will accelerate the adoption of advanced fuel vehicles while making our roads safer and our transportation system far more efficient,” said Smith.

Related Content

  • October 2, 2018
    Shock therapy: jolt for EV charging needed
    As sales of electric vehicles accelerate, the growth of charging infrastructure is in need of a big boost. Graham Anderson reports on whether Europe is up to it. Utilities, technology companies and vehicle manufacturers are battling to put in place new charging networks for electric vehicles (EVs) across Europe in response to a predicted dramatic surge in demand. Market experts believe that rapidly falling battery costs – which make up about one third of the costs of an electric car – and growing
  • July 11, 2014
    US business leaders discuss concerns over transportation funding
    US business leaders briefed Vice President Joe Biden and US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx yesterday on business issues associated with transportation infrastructure during a meeting hosted by the White House Business Council and Business Forward. Meeting participants included executives from large manufacturers, shipping companies, trade associations, and a range of other businesses, including Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO, Caterpillar, and Matt Rose, executive chairman, Burlington Northern S
  • June 13, 2018
    Robin Chase interview: Heaven and hell
    A shared vision - or even much of a conversation at all - about what a better mobility balance looks like has been lacking…until now. Andrew Stone speaks to Zipcar founder Robin Chase about fairness – and the importance of not demonising cars
  • June 7, 2017
    Technology and finance shapes up to make MaaS happen
    The technology and finance aspects needed for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to become widely adopted are taking shape as Geoff Hadwick and Colin Sowman hear. Sampo Hietanen, CEO of MaaS Global and ‘father’ of MaaS, started his address to ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference in London by saying: “All of the problems that can be solved by a company or group of companies have already been solved, and now we are left with the big ones such as housing, transport and health. He called MaaS the “Netfli