Webcast of Senate Commerce, Science Transportation Committee hearing - Transportation Innovation: Automated Trucks and Our Nation's Highways
I'll admit that I'm taking the easy way out and organizing my tweets written during the hearing yesterday. This is why some of the prose in this post is quite terse. Hastag used was #AVhearing.
Major categories of concern expressed during the hearing were safety, cybersecurity, potential loss of middle class truck driver jobs, and the significant differences between light vehicles - cars and light trucks - and commercial vehicles, which weigh a lot and cause great damage when they crash.
What strikes me as odd is the contradictory impulses expressed that (1) AVs will be safer, but (2) AVs can't be as safe in sticky situations as vehicles operated by human drivers, such as a West Virginia senator's windy driveway. Really? The huge number of injuries and fatalities say otherwise.
What do you think about new voluntary guidance?
There was some response to the new NHTSA AV voluntary guidance, but not much and these responses were not in agreement. Senator Thune, though looking for "strong federal leadership," is - tweet here - happy to see new NHTSA guidelines. "NHTSA offers a nonregulatory approach to automated vehicle technology safety." Not mentioning the voluntary nature of them. Apparently, Thune's excitement translated into a skepticism of regulation. On the other hand, Sen. Blumenthal calls new NHTSA AV guidelines "anemic." Sen. Blumenthal asks don't we need actual regulation.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
No one talked over the decades of loss of jobs for elevator operators, record store clerks, researchers, people who made alarm clocks, and the many thousands of others who have seen their work taken over by machines and computers and smartphones. But everyone is concerned about truck drivers - taxi and bus drivers are not mentioned much - because there are so many truck drivers and because, for a job that does not require much education, it pays a nice middle class wage. So the trucking industry refuses to state that jobs will be lost and the union representatives (for those truckers who are unionized) seem to be reacting to AVs the same way that the taxi industry responded to Uber - with obstruction and sometimes unrelated arguments.
Scared of cyberattacks and imperfect machines, but ...
Two general fears weaved a theme through the Senate hearing, though no statistics or evidence was discussed. These were cyberattacks and the general opinion that AVs are less safe than human driven trucks. Connected to the fear of cyberattacks is the huge fear of terrorism played out through cyberattacks.
However, balancing all the fears is almost a flirtatious interest in new technology and allowing it to develop unhampered by government restraints.
Tweets in actual order during hearing
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: 2nd opening stmt: #AVtrucks need separate discussion. Previous hrgs about lightweight AV cars, trucks.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: 2nd opening stmt: Truck and bus driver jobs out front. Which level of automation? Stds?
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Peters - Highly automated trucks are NOT ripe for bill. Plus, JOBS and cybersecurity.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: That was Sen. Peters of Michigan.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Colonel Scott G Hernandez - Chief, Colorado State Patrol. Safety, safety, safety from AVs.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hernandez talks about PR Otto trucking test on Colorado hwy to deliver beer. Level 4 truck.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hernandez says CO used NHTSA and Calif regs for safe Otto test. Talks of lots of prep.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hernandez says test provided info about cybersecurity, inspections, emergency mgmt of AVs.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hernandez says time for AV legislation and deployment of tech. Commercial vehicles a big part.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hernandez says planning is key. Repeat safety theme.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Next witness reading stmt - Mr. Troy Clarke, Chief Executive Officer of Navistar.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke talks of large price of trucks and investment in drivers. Mentions 94% stat on driver error.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke mentions lack of drivers. Sees future drivers more as pilots, w/ more tech.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke wants safety design stds. Talks of clarity, stds, and will always need truck operators.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Over 100 people die every day on US roads. Stmt of Deborah Hersman, CEO, National Safety Council.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hersman says to get to zero fatalities, need to carefully explore possibilities for prevention.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: 1 in 16 US jobs related to trucking. Stmt of Chris Spear, CEO of American Trucking Associations.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear says trucking industry spends $9 BILLION a year on safety. Need automated safety for trucks.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear asks for federal regs, not patchwork of conflicting state rules. Wants support for innovation.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear asks for V2V technology. 5.9 ghz standard. Look at fed regs accommodating AVs.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear says we'll hv to reconsider trucking regs - FMCSA. Gv examples, i.e. driver hours of service.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Ken Hall, General Secretary-Treasurer, International Brotherhood of Teamsters - voice of union drivers.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hall says need worker participation to incorporate tech. Gv past examples. Must protect wrkrs.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hall says workers are not guinea pigs. Cookie cutter approach to cars doesn't apply to commercial vehicles.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hall warns senators that drivers are their constituents and there's lots of them.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hall points to past vehicle manufacturer safety lapses that have resulted in fatalities, injuries.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hall says better to get AV done correctly than to get done quickly.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hernandez says need coordination - not leave out commercial vehicles.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hersman says AV technology can bring great safety improvements. Need stakeholder coordination.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke says commercial - heavy - vehicles very different than lightweight vehicles. Need one fed std.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke says freight crosses state lines each day. Patchwork of state laws won't work.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear will only talk driver-assist tech. Doesn't think trucks will be completely driverless.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear - not concerned about driver displacement. Need more drivers. #AVtrucks decades away.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear - drivers needed for pickup and delivery. Tech is not threat bc increases safety.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hall on job displacement - warns of 80k vehicle barreling down road w/o driver. Lots to be concerned about.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hall brings up cyber terrorism threat of truck as weapon if no driver.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Speak mks clear trucking industry doesn't want cyber terrorism threat either. Working on cybersecurity testing.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Speak and Hall agree that there's truck driver shortage. Level 2, 3 still need drivers.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear says new driver will work with tech. Wants truck driving to be cool.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear likes CV tech and platooning. Seems to me he's not excited about total AV tech.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke talks about importance of CV tech, AI, LIDAR, etc. US has edge.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Indiana senator confirms truck driver shortage, over 35k fatalities in US. AV potential for safety.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Indiana senator talks about great promise for independence for #peoplewithdisabilities. #pwd
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Indiana senator afraid of separately approaching AV light vehicles and commercial vehicles.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Role of truck driver in future. Spear says complicated road navigation. AV can't guarantee safety.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear says the model is airplanes. Basically fly by themselves, but have pilots on every plane.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear excited about CV platooning. Would mitigate risk.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Blumenthal calls new NHTSA AV guidelines as "anemic." Leaves enforcement "virtually toothless."
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Blumenthal asks don't we need actual regulation.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Union guy agrees with concept of regulation. Can't just trust vehicle manufacturers.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: No one willing to say outright that NHTSA AV guidelines are a robust first step.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear says NHTSA guidelines are a first step. Doesn't want patchwork of state laws.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Question is the proper regulatory framework Congress shd establish. That's Sen. Gardner.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Gardner mentions disproportionate share of fatal crashes involve trucks. Hersman confirms.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hersman agrees w/ Sen. Gardner - hv to include commercial vehicles in AV safety law.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Markey gets most witnesses to say yes to considering job loss with AV issues. "Computers on wheels."
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Markey asks union guy about threat of cyberattacks using trucks. Hall says terrifying - need more studies.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear says AV legislation being considered wd be remarkable first step. Markey includes cybersecurity bill.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Markey asks about privacy, selling of personal info. Union guy says yes, we need protection.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: CO state patrol dir says need CV tech to manage congestion. Avoidable secondary crashes kill troopers.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: CO senator says truck drivers = 1 in 20 CO jobs.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear talks of agencies that must coordinate on enormous data needed. Need to include labs.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: For commercial vehicles, Spear not seeing driverless. Level 2 & 3 for foreseeable future.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear and union guy wd be happy w/ legislation only addressing driver-assist tech.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Lots of concern about worker displacement. Spear and union guy say they can work together.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Nevada driverless bus. Tech and CV part of smart cities w/ P3s. Nev. senator supports training workforce.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hersman says other countries have made better strides on safety w/ tech improvements.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Inhofe asks for witness comments about job displacement. Massive job declines?
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hernandez from CO says we've had enormous loss of life w/ current tech on vehicles.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Spear says we'll need lots of employees to tend to tech-enabled trucks.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Masto of NH raises cyber fear.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Masto need more than assumption cybersecurity is being built in. Very concerned we get it right.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Masto asks about cybersecurity protection for trucks.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Everyone for cybersecurity for all vehicles. Everyone willing to hold hands.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Union guy declares we need strong cybersecurity regulation. Talks of VW scandal.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Capito points out WVA has spotty connectivity. Is this a barrier?
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke responds that AV doesn't have to be CV.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke says CV enhances safety.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Capito says she won't use an AV on the windy road to her house. Asks about operation on hwys.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hersman says speed limit adherence with AVs will help w/ problem of speed alleys on hwys.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Sen. Duckworth points out potential for #peoplewithdisabilities. #pwd
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Clarke says AVs not suitable for some roads.AV must hv ability to pull over, must be in rt lane.
@SenateCommerce #AVhearing: Hersman says lots of agencies shd be involved. Mentions railroad crossings and pedestrians. "All road users."
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