The U.S. Congress has started to explore potential legislation governing the testing and regulation of autonomous vehicles (AV). Last week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing, “Paving the Way for Self-Driving Vehicles,” which explored automated vehicle technology and hurdles for testing and deployment in the United States.

In advance of that hearing, U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) released six principles for bipartisan legislation regarding automated vehicles. The principles establish that any legislation in this area must:

1. Prioritize Safety: Legislation must consider both the near-term and long-term regulatory oversight of these vehicles, recognizing that new safety standards governing these vehicles should eventually be set.
2. Promote Continued Innovation and Reduce Existing Roadblocks: Legislation must allow the life-saving safety benefits of self-driving vehicle technology to move forward as development of new standards is underway. It also must find ways to preserve and improve safety while addressing incompatibility with old rules that were not written with self-driving vehicles in mind.
3. Remain Tech Neutral: Legislation must be technology neutral and avoid favoring the business models of some developers of self-driving vehicles over others.
4. Reinforce Separate Federal and State Roles: Legislation must clarify the responsibilities of federal and state regulators to protect the public and prevent conflicting laws and rules from stifling this new technology. It also must be based on the existing relationship between federal and state regulators and their current separation of authority, but make necessary targeted updates for new challenges posed by the current regulatory environment with respect to self-driving vehicles.
5. Strengthen Cybersecurity: Legislation must address the connectivity of self-driving vehicles and potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities before they compromise safety.
6. Educate the Public to Encourage Responsible Adoption of Self-Driving Vehicles: Government and industry should work together to ensure the public understands the differences between conventional and self-driving vehicles.

More detailed information on these principles is here.

Witness Testimony

During the hearings, these four witnesses testified:

• Mitch Bainwol, President and CEO, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers;
• Rob Csongor, Vice President and General Manager of Automotive Business, NVIDIA Corporation;
• John Maddox, President and CEO, American Center for Mobility; and
• Colleen Sheehey-Church, National President, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

A summary of the written testimony of each witness is below.

Mitch Bainwol. Representing the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Bainwol emphasized fuel efficiency and safety in his discussion. He made these four broad points:

1. Four trends are merging to dramatically reshape mobility as we know it: increasing automation, connectivity, ride sharing and electrification.
2. Self-driving vehicles will usher in a mobility era that offers profound social benefits.
3. The rate of technology is faster than the rate of regulation and also confuses traditional regulatory responsibilities. The transition will create disruptions, but the greater societal good is clear.
4. The key question the committee must ask is: “How do you use public policy to optimize the safe deployment of self- driving vehicles and their promise of social good, while continuing to let innovation spur economic growth?”

Bainwol provided these three recommendations:

1. Pass legislation significantly expanding the number and duration of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) exemptions the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) can grant under the Highway Safety Act.
2. Direct NHTSA to collect the data and information needed to promptly refresh and modernize the FMVSS to facilitate the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles.
3. Pass legislation clarifying federal versus state regulatory roles to facilitate innovation and the expeditious deployment of life-saving, self-driving technologies.

Rob Csongor. Csongor described self-driving as an "immense computational challenge,” noting that the car must be able to detect and perceive many objects, determine its precise position, plan safe paths from one point to another and then drive while navigating complex situations. He stated that, to meet this challenge, NVIDIA has created a platform comprised of processors in both the car and the data center, as well as a “software stack” that carmakers are building on. He also stated that NVIDIA believes new regulations are necessary and supports a unified set of regulations across all states.

John Maddox. Maddox offered several comments reflecting the perspective of the American Center for Mobility, a non-profit facility testing and product development facility for automated and connected vehicles:

1. Significant change is needed in our transportation system. Our past system is showing signs of strain, with tens of thousands of Americans losing their lives on our roads each year; and through ever-increasing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Because of promising safety potential, the United States should focus on developing and deploying Computer Aided Verification (CAV) technology in the most responsibly expedient manner possible.
3. It is critical to accelerate voluntary standards in order to ensure safe deployment of AVs. AV technology is being developed and is advancing at a faster rate than the traditional standards process can fully accommodate.
4. USDOT’s Automated Vehicle Proving Ground (AVPG) program provides key infrastructure and framework for safe deployment of CAVs.
5. Highly Automated Vehicle (HAV) data collection will continue after initial deployment, and exemptions are important to allow that data generation. It will be critical to gather data in the initial years of product deployment and perhaps indefinitely.

He provided the following recommendations:

1. Authorize and fund USDOT to direct, fund and collaborate on voluntary industry standards, including testing, validation, cybersecurity, privacy and self-certification tools and methodologies.
2. Authorize and fund the USDOT AVPG program to provide facilities and opportunities for product development, standardization, education and public-private partnerships.
3. Consider revising NHTSA’s exemption authority to enable HAV deployment and early data collection, and authorize and fund appropriate FTE to implement this program.

Colleen Sheehey-Church. Sheehey-Church spoke on behalf of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and explained that MADD believes AVs present an enormous potential to eliminate drunk driving and other behavioral-related traffic deaths. She presented four key principles for Congress to consider:

1. Support for a federal regulatory framework
2. Support for the existing state regulatory system
3. Support for level four and five autonomous technologies
4. Support for evaluating the technology as it evolves

Interested readers can read more details on the hearings, including video of witnesses’ testimonies. We will continue to send updates on emerging developments in this area.

© 2017 Perkins Coie LLP