US Transportation Secretary wants more pre-market testing of autonomous cars

Speaking at a self-driving convention in San Francisco, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told delegates that government regulators and the automotive industry must work together to test autonomous driving technology before the vehicles hit the road, reports Associated Press. He said a more rigorous review of robotic controls is needed to reassure consumers that autonomous vehicles are safe before people entrust their vehicle’s steering and brakes to a robot. "This could help assure consumers t
July 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Speaking at a self-driving convention in San Francisco, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told delegates that government regulators and the automotive industry must work together to test autonomous driving technology before the vehicles hit the road, reports Associated Press.

He said a more rigorous review of robotic controls is needed to reassure consumers that autonomous vehicles are safe before people entrust their vehicle’s steering and brakes to a robot.

"This could help assure consumers that the vehicles that they are getting into are stress tested," Foxx said.

He also advised automakers to assume people will be tempted to take foolhardy risks when they activate the autonomous features in a car, making it imperative to design vehicles that minimise the chances of irresponsible behaviour.

His remarks come a few weeks after the driver of a Tesla crashed into a truck in Florida while using the vehicle’s AutoPilot feature. The crash is still under investigation.

Foxx plans to propose guidelines for autonomous vehicles later this summer.
Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • IBTTA seeks transportation innovation
    December 16, 2016
    IBTTA’s Patrick Jones contemplates the need for, sources of and constraints on transportation innovation. For years now, visionary thinkers and doers in the highway transportation community have been laser-focused on the role of innovation in addressing the most pressing mobility challenges.
    Read More
  • Milton Keynes adds e-scooters to bike-share
    August 4, 2020
    Spin and Lime are among providers chosen by the UK town in country's first large-scale trial
    Read More
  • IBTTA: industry must commit to trust and accountability
    August 23, 2018
    Without a commitment to trust and accountability, the modern road tolling industry would not have the bedrock which it requires – and which customers demand, says IBTTA’s Bill Cramer When Tim Stewart, executive director of Colorado’s E-470 Public Highway Authority, settled on ‘trust and accountability’ as the themes for his year as IBTTA president, it was a very deliberate choice. Stewart was looking for language that would help deliver the global tolling industry’s message of service excellence to cust
    Read More
  • Kapsch TrafficCom: 'The city is not made for cars'
    October 22, 2018
    Traffic can be a really big challenge. When you’re stuck, you’re stuck. Everything comes to a standstill. But Alexander Lewald describes how existing infrastructures can be used more efficiently and how demand can be managed. A few figures to start with: in Los Angeles, the average driver spends 102 hours a year in traffic – that’s more than four days. This figure is 91 hours in Moscow and New York, 74 in London, 69 in Paris, 51 hours in Munich and still 40 hours in Vienna. Traffic is what causes
    Read More

Highlighted Content