Autonomous Vehicle Policy and Legal Resource Organizations

Here is a profile of a few organizations that are primarily focused on policy and legal issues that are related to autonomous vehicles. There are lots more that pay considerable attention to autonomous transportation, but have broader missions. Those include associations that represent automakers and auto-related insurance, as well as trucking interests, and technology associations and businesses.

With a few exceptions, transit and most cities are so mired in the day to day that they have not bothered to systematically analyze what is happening with driverless developments. The taxi industry, traditionally serving cities and supplementing transit, is continuing its unsuccessful strategy of blocking technological innovation. In Upstate New York, for example, the taxi lobby failed in its attempt to ban autonomous vehicles throughout the state for the next 50 years. No kidding.

Likewise, the trucking industry and labor are, in my opinion, in DC-speak pretend mode. No words about job loss make their way into any official trucking representative statements, and unions and individual truck drivers declare that safety is the primary concern rather than holding onto middle class jobs in an economy that has witnessed entire slices of the economy disappear.

While many are ignoring this upcoming societal transformation, the following organizations are full steam ahead for promoting the changes, some focusing on safety and accessibility.

ATI

ATI has experienced staff that is knowledgeable in technology and transportation policy. Its about page states:

The Alliance for Transportation Innovation (ATI21) is a consortium of transportation technology innovators, subject matter experts, and researchers. The consortium is dedicated to increasing public and stakeholder awareness of the transformative safety, sociological, and economic improvements that can be realized through the accelerated development and deployment of ingenious transportation technologies. 

ATI21 was formed to make the public aware of the dramatic social and economic benefits innovations in transportation can provide. It is equally important that our leaders, lawmakers, and regulators are well informed, thoughtful, and restrained in their approach to regulating this environment so acceleration of the development and adoption of these technologies can be realized. The future will be extraordinarily shaped by improving the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. ATI21 is committed to making this vision a reality.

ATI seeks to smooth the policy and legal road for the deployment of autonomous vehicle technology. The website speaks of ensuring that laws and regulations do not present roadblocks to testing and deployment. ATI does not put itself forth as a social equity concern and it charges big bucks for its events - $195 for a one-day event or $500 for a four-part series in Washington, DC, plus a processing fee - to discuss legal, regulatory, and policy issues with experts. Membership fees start at $ 7,500 per year.

ATI also has a strong public relations bent, exhibited in its quite successful cross-country driverless dog-and-pony show where the autonomous vehicle comes to town and gives rides local political leaders and sometimes even members of the public.

Sponsors include EasyMile, Transdev, and the American Research and Policy Institute (ARPI).

SAVe Campaign

The SAVe Campaign stands for Safe Autonomous Vehicles Campaign, which is pro-driverless, but with a balance for ensuring safety, "corporate transparency, and manufacturer accountability."

We believe that autonomous vehicles will be among the most exciting, significant technological developments we’ll see in our lifetime, but we also believe that such a significant advance underscores the need for a commonsense commitment to putting pedestrian, passenger, and driver safety first.  

Autonomous vehicles have the potential to improve highway safety, but we’ve seen what can happen in the absence of oversight: faulty airbags, dangerous ignition switches, hidden devices to conceal exhaust levels, and malfunctioning gas pedals.

SAVe states on its website that it is a national coalition of organizations, associations and individuals. Those listed include EndDD.org (End Distracted Driving), ARCCA (a forensics engineering firm that includes crash worthiness, accident reconstruction, and other auto-related services), Safe Laboratories (an auto testing firm independent of any automaker), and Syson Corp. (an automobile mechanical engineering company), among others.

I am glad that informed parties are watching the safety details of autonomous vehicles, however, for transparency, this is also an organization that is protecting the financial interest of many members so that they continue to have a piece of the transportation pie that they currently own.

Unpaid commercial break for Waymo

Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets

This is the big kid's league with paying members Ford, Uber, Google (Waymo, I mean), and Volvo, and partners MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), the National Federation of the Blind, and the United Spinal Association, among a few others. No word on whether these partners are decorative decoys or whether the coalition will actually pay serious attention to accessibility for people with disabilities. Such accessibility includes more than wheelchair access; it means interfaces that people who are visually or auditorily impaired can use. (It also means, and this is a big question mark, redundancies that protect people who have developmental disabilities and people who are frail - meaning those whom a driver currently protects and does not leave alone. A tangential question, beyond the current discussion of this post, is whether a human will continue to be made available for frail individuals or whether that will cost a whole lot extra.)

The coalition is an influence/lobbying/educational effort to encourage a legal framework that supports transportation and technological innovation. Heading up the coalition is David Strickland, a former NHTSA administrator and Obama law school friend. He is a super nice guy and seriously smart. He is invited to give statements and to speak at the highest-level driverless government meetings and events.

National Conference of State Legislatures - Autonomous Vehicles Legislation and Enacted Laws

An excellent resource is the NCSL autonomous vehicles webpage with enacted and introduced state-level legislative information and links. This resource does not include links to state regulations governing motor vehicles; nor does it provide links to already existing state statutes relevant to the operation of these vehicles. Many of the autonomous vehicle bills and laws refer to those statutes.

NCSL also maintains a webpage with state legislative information about event data recorders. This will become relevant as state courts begin to grapple with lawsuits related to driverless vehicles.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund

DREDF wrote Self-Driving Cars: Mapping Access to a Technology Revolution for the National Council on Disability. Though already a bit outdated when it was published, that report remains an excellent examination of the issues to consider when designing accessible autonomous vehicles. Issues covered include not only wheelchair access, but also accessibility of interfaces, privacy concerns, and the safety of people with significant disabilities.