Here's an article from the Guardian with another cute video of the same pod at the same California campus.
A parent's dream: Safe transportation when one's child - even as an adult - lives far away at a college or university.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
A Cute Driverless Video - Shuttle Pod in Academic Bubble
Not really enough here for a post, but I could not resist the short and sweet driverless pod video shot at the California State University campus in Sacramento. A Varden Labs guy explains the technology, at some points as the pod - a sturdy-looking golf cart contraption - glides along slowly, practically next to students on foot.
Here's an article from the Guardian with another cute video of the same pod at the same California campus.
A parent's dream: Safe transportation when one's child - even as an adult - lives far away at a college or university.
Here's an article from the Guardian with another cute video of the same pod at the same California campus.
A parent's dream: Safe transportation when one's child - even as an adult - lives far away at a college or university.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
More US State Legislatures Look at Driverless, While in Greece ...
The Northeast Corridor, that magical set of states where Amtrak (the US passenger rail system) is actually profitable and on time, is waking up to the future. Its state-level lawmakers are busy making possible the operation and testing of driverless vehicles.
I so want to see driverless in Boston and Brooklyn. What will drivers and pedestrians do if there is no driver to shout an expletive at? Somehow shouting out "as*%ole" to a vehicle in which a couple of people are watching a movie cannot provide any satisfaction.
Essentially the same bills being considered
There's no law against plagiarism when drafting statutory language, so the bills being considered in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are pretty much the same. I am not using word "identical" because I might not be reading the text of the bills uber-carefully. It's after work, the dog is resting beside me, and the brain is not in crunch mode. Here are the links.
New York - Assembly bill A31
Massachusetts - Bill H. 2977
Rhode Island - S. 2514
All allow for operation of driverless vehicles if federal safety standards are met. Of course, the US Department of Transportation is not ready for its safety standards to permit operation of such vehicles YET. All require that somewhere a licensed driver be present and be able to take over operation of the vehicle, whether from afar at an undisclosed location or from inside the vehicle.
However, testing - all that would be permitted at this time - of an autonomous vehicle will require a human driver to be present in the vehicle.
Hey pals, Michigan is THE Motor State
The state of Michigan gets indigestion every time the terms driverless or autonomous vehicles are mentioned. Instead of taking Alka Seltzer, the state is medicating itself with money, in this case Michigan Strategic Funds to the tune of $3 million. The funds are for the purpose of buying Willow Run, to create a new driverless testing facility in Ypsilanti (wasn't that what MCity was for?). No joke - the Willow Run entity is called the Willow Run Arsenal of Democracy Landholdings Limited Partnership. Only Freedom Fries will be sold. That part was a joke.
Because land is cheap in Michigan, there will be money left over toward the start up of the American Center for Mobility, a consortium of:
[Editor's note: I actually spent whole weeks in Ypsilanti years ago, when I was in high school, and my brother worked for Ford as an engineer and my sister had a summer job there when she was at MIT. It's a weirdly generic place. No personality.]
University bubble
To get around antiquated U.S. state and federal motor vehicle regulations, driverless is heading toward university campuses, with their private roads. Other potential markets with private roads include resorts, office parks, and gated communities, particularly communities for older adults. Right now, Vardon Labs is taking its golf-cart-like driverless shuttle vehicle to campuses in California. This video is from Fresno State.
A great opportunity for college campus shuttles is the willingness of students to try anything. Then they can convince their parents and grandparents to try stuff, perhaps while not also making their elders feel stupid and incapable. That might be too high a standard. My daughter actually asked if I know that my phone has a timer just because I was using a little standalone timer. Yes, sweetheart, I know. Adult brilliant children also have senses of humor, sometimes directed at their parents.
Meanwhile, across the seas in Greece
While the U.S. is doing fantastic as far as its private sector goes, and scrambling when it comes to public funding, and laws and regulations, Greece - yes, the country that barely escaped bankruptcy - has an actual driverless transit shuttle on its streets and that driverless shuttle is picking up actual people and there is no steering wheel or brakes. There are humans in a little office watching from afar (and likely feeling quite bored). Watch the cute video (not on youtube, so I can't embed it.)
I so want to see driverless in Boston and Brooklyn. What will drivers and pedestrians do if there is no driver to shout an expletive at? Somehow shouting out "as*%ole" to a vehicle in which a couple of people are watching a movie cannot provide any satisfaction.
Essentially the same bills being considered
There's no law against plagiarism when drafting statutory language, so the bills being considered in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are pretty much the same. I am not using word "identical" because I might not be reading the text of the bills uber-carefully. It's after work, the dog is resting beside me, and the brain is not in crunch mode. Here are the links.
New York - Assembly bill A31
Massachusetts - Bill H. 2977
Rhode Island - S. 2514
All allow for operation of driverless vehicles if federal safety standards are met. Of course, the US Department of Transportation is not ready for its safety standards to permit operation of such vehicles YET. All require that somewhere a licensed driver be present and be able to take over operation of the vehicle, whether from afar at an undisclosed location or from inside the vehicle.
However, testing - all that would be permitted at this time - of an autonomous vehicle will require a human driver to be present in the vehicle.
Hey pals, Michigan is THE Motor State
The state of Michigan gets indigestion every time the terms driverless or autonomous vehicles are mentioned. Instead of taking Alka Seltzer, the state is medicating itself with money, in this case Michigan Strategic Funds to the tune of $3 million. The funds are for the purpose of buying Willow Run, to create a new driverless testing facility in Ypsilanti (wasn't that what MCity was for?). No joke - the Willow Run entity is called the Willow Run Arsenal of Democracy Landholdings Limited Partnership. Only Freedom Fries will be sold. That part was a joke.
Because land is cheap in Michigan, there will be money left over toward the start up of the American Center for Mobility, a consortium of:
the State of Michigan – including the Michigan Department of Transportation and MEDC, the University of Michigan, Business Leaders for Michigan and Ann Arbor SPARK. The board of directors includes representatives from the university, BLM, SPARK, which initiated the project and will play a key role in economic development tied to the center. Automotive industry and community advisory boards will also be established.I'm thinking there's no direct sales of Nevada-produced Teslas in Michigan.
[Editor's note: I actually spent whole weeks in Ypsilanti years ago, when I was in high school, and my brother worked for Ford as an engineer and my sister had a summer job there when she was at MIT. It's a weirdly generic place. No personality.]
University bubble
To get around antiquated U.S. state and federal motor vehicle regulations, driverless is heading toward university campuses, with their private roads. Other potential markets with private roads include resorts, office parks, and gated communities, particularly communities for older adults. Right now, Vardon Labs is taking its golf-cart-like driverless shuttle vehicle to campuses in California. This video is from Fresno State.
A great opportunity for college campus shuttles is the willingness of students to try anything. Then they can convince their parents and grandparents to try stuff, perhaps while not also making their elders feel stupid and incapable. That might be too high a standard. My daughter actually asked if I know that my phone has a timer just because I was using a little standalone timer. Yes, sweetheart, I know. Adult brilliant children also have senses of humor, sometimes directed at their parents.
Meanwhile, across the seas in Greece
While the U.S. is doing fantastic as far as its private sector goes, and scrambling when it comes to public funding, and laws and regulations, Greece - yes, the country that barely escaped bankruptcy - has an actual driverless transit shuttle on its streets and that driverless shuttle is picking up actual people and there is no steering wheel or brakes. There are humans in a little office watching from afar (and likely feeling quite bored). Watch the cute video (not on youtube, so I can't embed it.)
Friday, March 25, 2016
Too Many Driverless Restrictions in the States?
The answer seems to be "oh yes," at least for nuTonomy, started by MIT-related folks, which will be testing a shared-ride driverless service soon in Singapore. Singapore has been ambitious to push the driverless revolution. nuTonomy was also involved with the Singapore week-long pilot of ferrying around public garden visitors in a driverless golf cart.
nuTonomy claims that it's fleet management algorithms are so efficient that Singapore will be able to reduce by half its taxi fleet and keep the same level of service. We're talking about a current fleet of 700,000 taxis (Manhattan on steroids?). nuTonomy vehicles use LIDAR, which sometimes is capitalized and sometimes not.
Minnesota joins the race - a slow, state-by-state race
Minnesota is throwing its hat into the self-driving ring, but it is acting similarly to other gun-shy states. Report by Dec. 31, 2018; a big task force; blah, blah, blah. Nice to see, however, that people with disabilities are included in the rationale for the legislation along with generating revenue for the state.
One important tidbit: In terms of operating a self-driving vehicle, although a licensed driver must be available, that human does NOT have to be present in the vehicle. I re-read the text because I don't trust myself. Here it is, in bold, italic, and underlined.
I'm sure that $5 million, with a chance to be near the Mary Tyler Moore statue, will be a huge temptation for those billion dollar companies. Maybe a tiny start up. Sarcasm dripping again. Okay, but if you do go to the Twin Cities, definitely have pancakes at Mickey's Diner in St. Paul. So, so good.
nuTonomy claims that it's fleet management algorithms are so efficient that Singapore will be able to reduce by half its taxi fleet and keep the same level of service. We're talking about a current fleet of 700,000 taxis (Manhattan on steroids?). nuTonomy vehicles use LIDAR, which sometimes is capitalized and sometimes not.
Minnesota joins the race - a slow, state-by-state race
Minnesota is throwing its hat into the self-driving ring, but it is acting similarly to other gun-shy states. Report by Dec. 31, 2018; a big task force; blah, blah, blah. Nice to see, however, that people with disabilities are included in the rationale for the legislation along with generating revenue for the state.
One important tidbit: In terms of operating a self-driving vehicle, although a licensed driver must be available, that human does NOT have to be present in the vehicle. I re-read the text because I don't trust myself. Here it is, in bold, italic, and underlined.
a person who holds a class D license or its equivalent is present in the vehicle or is monitoring the vehicle from a remote location during operation, and in either case, the licensed person is able to take control of the vehicle's movements immediately, if necessary.The bill, SF 2569, calls for a whopping $5 million. In case you did not get it, the previous sentence was dripping with sarcasm. Just yesterday, I wrote about Japan spending $3 TRILLION. I can't write trillion, dollars that is, without capital letters (woo, just did).
I'm sure that $5 million, with a chance to be near the Mary Tyler Moore statue, will be a huge temptation for those billion dollar companies. Maybe a tiny start up. Sarcasm dripping again. Okay, but if you do go to the Twin Cities, definitely have pancakes at Mickey's Diner in St. Paul. So, so good.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Lots of Little Players in Crowded Field
Zoox, a start-up with an Australian designer and a Standford professor (not out of the mainstream in Silicon Valley), is number 12. Company number 12 in California to obtain a driverless vehicle testing permit. Going to the Zoox website reveals a musical band and not a technology or automotive company. I think they are looking for gigs, the band that is.
Bentley Motors, the luxury auto company, which, by the way, has a website, is also working on driverless transportation, though probably a very fancy kind. Apparently, their prototypes have sofas. Nice cushy ones, of course. I'm wondering if a good brand of Scotch will come with the vehicle. Bentley is talking of exclusive lanes for elite cars - meaning expensive - but I'm not sure anyone else is.
Behind, but well organized - watch the rearview mirror
Japan is upset, or at least its car companies are. They are going all out - together - to advance driverless technology in their island nation, and, presumably, for eventual sale around the world. This is to the tune of three TRILLION dollars. Not million, not billion, but trillion. I don't even know how to spell that, but I got past the spellcheck on the first try. Very proud.
The Japanese are also going to be drafting international standards for driverless vehicles. I think that is actual international standards and not international in the sense of the US-based, Canadian participation, World Series for baseball, which has the word "world," but means the US, with Canada as a friendly afterthought.
Bentley Motors, the luxury auto company, which, by the way, has a website, is also working on driverless transportation, though probably a very fancy kind. Apparently, their prototypes have sofas. Nice cushy ones, of course. I'm wondering if a good brand of Scotch will come with the vehicle. Bentley is talking of exclusive lanes for elite cars - meaning expensive - but I'm not sure anyone else is.
Behind, but well organized - watch the rearview mirror
Japan is upset, or at least its car companies are. They are going all out - together - to advance driverless technology in their island nation, and, presumably, for eventual sale around the world. This is to the tune of three TRILLION dollars. Not million, not billion, but trillion. I don't even know how to spell that, but I got past the spellcheck on the first try. Very proud.
The Japanese are also going to be drafting international standards for driverless vehicles. I think that is actual international standards and not international in the sense of the US-based, Canadian participation, World Series for baseball, which has the word "world," but means the US, with Canada as a friendly afterthought.
Monday, March 21, 2016
After reading federal motor vehicle safety standards report
This is pretty simple. The law, 49 USC 30111, giving the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) authority to promulgate regulations governing automobile safety standards does not mention the word "driver." The law simply leaves safety regulation for motor vehicles to the USDOT.
The regulations, however, mention the word "driver"word or allude to a driver quite a bit. And that is what the USDOT report on FMVSS - federal motor vehicle safety standards - is all about. Entitled Review of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for Automated Vehicles Identifying potential barriers and challenges for the certification of automated vehicles using existing FMVSS, the report is a catalogue of those regulations. Literally a list of regulations and text.
I'm guessing that none of the USDOT lawyers in any way related to this report was willing to jump out on a big limb and say, "We can promulgate driverless regulations right now."
Why? That statement would be a big risk: It would piss off some people, including some members of Congress. It could be a rather sizable power grab by the USDOT.
Now, having been trained as a lawyer myself, I can also state that such a move by the USDOT could easily be challenged in court because, let's face it, the law authorizing the regulations was passed when the only thing approaching driverless was the Jetsons cartoon. Or Star Trek. Or something imaginary.
Be creative, you learned this in law school
But there is a way for USDOT to move forward with driverless before Congress acts. Check out this statutory nugget at 49 USC 30114.
The regulations, however, mention the word "driver"word or allude to a driver quite a bit. And that is what the USDOT report on FMVSS - federal motor vehicle safety standards - is all about. Entitled Review of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for Automated Vehicles Identifying potential barriers and challenges for the certification of automated vehicles using existing FMVSS, the report is a catalogue of those regulations. Literally a list of regulations and text.
I'm guessing that none of the USDOT lawyers in any way related to this report was willing to jump out on a big limb and say, "We can promulgate driverless regulations right now."
Why? That statement would be a big risk: It would piss off some people, including some members of Congress. It could be a rather sizable power grab by the USDOT.
Now, having been trained as a lawyer myself, I can also state that such a move by the USDOT could easily be challenged in court because, let's face it, the law authorizing the regulations was passed when the only thing approaching driverless was the Jetsons cartoon. Or Star Trek. Or something imaginary.
Be creative, you learned this in law school
But there is a way for USDOT to move forward with driverless before Congress acts. Check out this statutory nugget at 49 USC 30114.
The Secretary of Transportation may exempt a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment from section 30112(a) of this title on terms the Secretary decides are necessary for research, investigations, demonstrations, training, competitive racing events, show, or display.See? There's gold in those statutory details.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Google Dancing Cheek to Cheek with Multiple Partners
Alaska: Google sends emissary Ron Barnes, its state legislative representative, to flirt with Alaskan officials. It's mutual flirting at this point, with no commitments, between Google and Alaska to decide whether to test Google cars in the frozen state. Alaska provides lots of snow and ice and quiet roadways.
US Department of Transportation: Not exactly driverless, but driverless-related news, in Google's participation in the DOT Smart Cities' challenge. Google will be collecting and aggregating vehicular travel data in cities, which data will then be plowed into improving driverless vehicle capability. Here's an explanation of the arrangement.
The state of Michigan and GM are getting more serious about testing and developing self-driving vehicles. In a addition to MCity, the state will have a new testing facility, Willow Run, to be headed by a University of Michigan official and to be fitted up with some state money. The official headed up the program that oversaw MCity. More information here.
Dancing alone, Ford announces the creation of its subsidiary, Smart Mobility. Ho hum news, really.
US Department of Transportation: Not exactly driverless, but driverless-related news, in Google's participation in the DOT Smart Cities' challenge. Google will be collecting and aggregating vehicular travel data in cities, which data will then be plowed into improving driverless vehicle capability. Here's an explanation of the arrangement.
The project, called Flow, is part of a joint venture between the DOT and Sidewalk Labs, a company run under Google-turned-Alphabet, to aggregate anonymized data to better understand traffic patterns and congestion areas in cities.Over in Michigan, another dance tune
The state of Michigan and GM are getting more serious about testing and developing self-driving vehicles. In a addition to MCity, the state will have a new testing facility, Willow Run, to be headed by a University of Michigan official and to be fitted up with some state money. The official headed up the program that oversaw MCity. More information here.
Dancing alone, Ford announces the creation of its subsidiary, Smart Mobility. Ho hum news, really.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
California - Weird Driverless Stuff at the Legislature
So, remember the proposed legislation in California to allow the driverless transit pilot in a Contra Costa office park?
Here was the scoop at the end of January:
Plot thickens
A new bill, AB 2682, was introduced a month ago (my apologies on being late here) by a different Assembly member. This one addresses all autonomous vehicle operations and testing as well as the role of the California state transportation agency, CalTrans. Lots of detail in this one, though it does conceive of a no-driver, no-steering-wheel, no-brakes scenario - but with tons of bureaucracy and waiting time. OMG! Does the California legislature really believe this complex legislation that puts the ball back in CalTrans' court will keep companies in the state to develop and test driverless vehicles?
I'm giving the California legislative assembly a giant teenage death stare right now. Are they kidding? A minimum of six months of wait time to test a hands-free vehicle on a public road?
Private vs. public and where can the transit shuttle go
Where does the Contra Costa transit pilot project stand now? It's on a private office park facility, so it can likely go ahead. I am not a member of the California bar and I've only been in the state a few times, BUT I believe that private roads are a different matter. However, the whole point of AB 1592 was that the shuttle would also be permitted to operate on public roads.
Oh well. Not sure that will happen.
Better fly to Europe or Asia for a nice driverless transit shuttle ride.
Those Google guys have an uphill battle and that's just one state legislature. No wonder automated vehicle lobbyists are working on Congress to go full steam ahead.
When Congress, with its inability to come to agreement on major legislation, is your fallback position, that's not a good plan for quick action.
Here was the scoop at the end of January:
AB 1592 - This proposed legislation will not satisfy Google, but it does expressly permit a planned pilot of driverless transit by the Contra Costa Transit Authority, presumably the one planned at the Bishop Ranch office park. The bill would permit for a Contra Costa transit vehicle to operate without a steering wheel or brakes.Well, one week ago a hearing on the bill was cancelled at the request of its author, Assembly Member Bonilla.
Plot thickens
A new bill, AB 2682, was introduced a month ago (my apologies on being late here) by a different Assembly member. This one addresses all autonomous vehicle operations and testing as well as the role of the California state transportation agency, CalTrans. Lots of detail in this one, though it does conceive of a no-driver, no-steering-wheel, no-brakes scenario - but with tons of bureaucracy and waiting time. OMG! Does the California legislature really believe this complex legislation that puts the ball back in CalTrans' court will keep companies in the state to develop and test driverless vehicles?
I'm giving the California legislative assembly a giant teenage death stare right now. Are they kidding? A minimum of six months of wait time to test a hands-free vehicle on a public road?
Private vs. public and where can the transit shuttle go
Where does the Contra Costa transit pilot project stand now? It's on a private office park facility, so it can likely go ahead. I am not a member of the California bar and I've only been in the state a few times, BUT I believe that private roads are a different matter. However, the whole point of AB 1592 was that the shuttle would also be permitted to operate on public roads.
Oh well. Not sure that will happen.
Better fly to Europe or Asia for a nice driverless transit shuttle ride.
Those Google guys have an uphill battle and that's just one state legislature. No wonder automated vehicle lobbyists are working on Congress to go full steam ahead.
When Congress, with its inability to come to agreement on major legislation, is your fallback position, that's not a good plan for quick action.
Congress Should Act, DOT Effectively Saying
Coming back from vacation, I was hoping for no news, or redundant news, to ease me back. But no, here we are with a USDOT report and a Senate hearing, both notable as much for what they do not explicitly say as for what they do. Then there is GM's ramping up efforts on driverless vehicles, at the same time that Britain is going all in. And I feel compelled to mention that Chinese technology giant Baidu plans to begin testing driverless cars in the US and to launch its vehicles in 2018.
The race is on, boys
One thing is clear: Whatever advantage the US has had is sure to disappear if steering wheels and brake pads and human drivers are required. So why is the US Department of Transportation - USDOT - going all conservative (with a small "c") by finding that steering wheels and brake pads, as well as a conventional driver's seat area are all mandatory? Basically, DOT is taking the high road that its lawyers are giving approval for. Those lawyers are pointing to transportation law provisions that refer to - and therefore assume the presence of - a driver.
Actually, Congress and the DOT building are a nice, long walk from each other - not on the same road
In my opinion, and this is, thus far, only based on the DOT report's executive summary, is that DOT is kicking this can down the road to the doorstep of Congress. Now if Congress is willing to act and agree on something, I will be surprised. But that was what the whole Senate hearing was about: Google, GM, Lyft, and Delphi (plus one restrained academic from Duke) all begging Congress to see reason and allow for AV (automated vehicles) to happen and soon and the way the companies envision the technology.
Scroll down the page with the Senate hearing information to view a video of the whole event. Notice the empty chairs of the absent Senators. They are not ready to do anything yet, and certainly not this close to heavy campaign season.
Embedded US civics lesson
For those of you who never took civics: Every member of the House is up for re-election this year, as well as one third, about 33, of the Senate.The House members represent districts (practically neighborhoods in Brooklyn, but sometimes half of or whole states in those places where hardly anyone lives). They are up for reelection every two years. Senators serve six-year terms and represent entire states.
Civics lesson over
Two big concerns at the hearing were privacy of personal information and protection from hacking. Will we still be able to live in a world where one can cheat on a spouse's dietary regime with a secret visit to McDonalds?
I'll be enjoying the full report this weekend, maybe with a nap on the porch? Who knows.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will be hosting two public hearings this spring. The first to be held on Apr. 8 at USDOT headquarters - right near the ballpark - in Washington, DC, and the second, still a mystery on exact date and location, though somewhere in the state of California.
In brief - goings on outside of DC
As I have other work and life interests, I'll be extremely brief here. I'm also leaving out legislative activities in California because that is a whole other post.
Britain: Driverless trucks (or lorries, as trucks are called across the pond) are set for a connected vehicle trial on a quiet stretch of highway. Only the lead truck will have a driver. I'm guessing that the driver will not be singing the convoy song.
GM: The company is buying Cruise Automation, a San Francisco startup, for more than - wait for it - one billion with a B dollars.
Advice: For most people, people who do not like the intense summer heat, that is, this is the nicest time of year to be in DC. The weather is lovely, the flowers are blooming, and the cherry blossoms are soon to make an appearance. One reason to avoid being here are the legions of eighth graders on their spring break trips to the nation's capital. Like so many flocks of geese, one sidesteps them during their seasonal migration.
The race is on, boys
One thing is clear: Whatever advantage the US has had is sure to disappear if steering wheels and brake pads and human drivers are required. So why is the US Department of Transportation - USDOT - going all conservative (with a small "c") by finding that steering wheels and brake pads, as well as a conventional driver's seat area are all mandatory? Basically, DOT is taking the high road that its lawyers are giving approval for. Those lawyers are pointing to transportation law provisions that refer to - and therefore assume the presence of - a driver.
Actually, Congress and the DOT building are a nice, long walk from each other - not on the same road
In my opinion, and this is, thus far, only based on the DOT report's executive summary, is that DOT is kicking this can down the road to the doorstep of Congress. Now if Congress is willing to act and agree on something, I will be surprised. But that was what the whole Senate hearing was about: Google, GM, Lyft, and Delphi (plus one restrained academic from Duke) all begging Congress to see reason and allow for AV (automated vehicles) to happen and soon and the way the companies envision the technology.
Scroll down the page with the Senate hearing information to view a video of the whole event. Notice the empty chairs of the absent Senators. They are not ready to do anything yet, and certainly not this close to heavy campaign season.
Embedded US civics lesson
For those of you who never took civics: Every member of the House is up for re-election this year, as well as one third, about 33, of the Senate.The House members represent districts (practically neighborhoods in Brooklyn, but sometimes half of or whole states in those places where hardly anyone lives). They are up for reelection every two years. Senators serve six-year terms and represent entire states.
Civics lesson over
Two big concerns at the hearing were privacy of personal information and protection from hacking. Will we still be able to live in a world where one can cheat on a spouse's dietary regime with a secret visit to McDonalds?
I'll be enjoying the full report this weekend, maybe with a nap on the porch? Who knows.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will be hosting two public hearings this spring. The first to be held on Apr. 8 at USDOT headquarters - right near the ballpark - in Washington, DC, and the second, still a mystery on exact date and location, though somewhere in the state of California.
In brief - goings on outside of DC
As I have other work and life interests, I'll be extremely brief here. I'm also leaving out legislative activities in California because that is a whole other post.
Britain: Driverless trucks (or lorries, as trucks are called across the pond) are set for a connected vehicle trial on a quiet stretch of highway. Only the lead truck will have a driver. I'm guessing that the driver will not be singing the convoy song.
GM: The company is buying Cruise Automation, a San Francisco startup, for more than - wait for it - one billion with a B dollars.
Advice: For most people, people who do not like the intense summer heat, that is, this is the nicest time of year to be in DC. The weather is lovely, the flowers are blooming, and the cherry blossoms are soon to make an appearance. One reason to avoid being here are the legions of eighth graders on their spring break trips to the nation's capital. Like so many flocks of geese, one sidesteps them during their seasonal migration.
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