Consumer Groups Say DOT Automation Panel Skewed to Industry, Seek Changes

Two consumer groups want President-elect Donald Trump to "fire" General Motors CEO Mary Barra from co-chairing the recently announced Department of Transportation committee that will review challenges, opportunities and best practices related to automation, which is projected to play a bigger role in buses, cars, drones, trains and planes (see 1701110048). Barra "should not lead a panel recommending how to deploy her company's automated vehicles," wrote Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court, the group's Privacy Project Director John Simpson and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways Chairwoman Joan Claybrook in a Thursday letter to Trump. "We are also appalled that not a single consumer, citizen or auto safety survivor’s group sits on this industry-dominated panel and ask that you restructure the rest of this advisory committee so it includes members of consumer advocacy groups and true representatives of the public interest." Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) will co-chair the 25-member panel, which includes representatives from Amazon, Apple, Google, Lyft, Uber and Zipcar, plus academics, insurers and others. The consumer groups' letter said companies like GM and others "are rushing to deploy robot car technology and will not offer unbiased advice." The advisory panel should be focusing on developing privacy and security measures and standards, the consumer groups said, but companies selling robot cars "have shown little willingness to protect our data." The panel is "likely to backfire" because their advice will be called into question, which could potentially set back development of the technology, the groups said. The Trump transition team didn't comment.