Consumer, Safety Groups Warn Against Attaching Self-Drive Bill to FAA Act

The Senate shouldn't attach autonomous driving legislation to the FAA Reauthorization Act, some 70 safety and consumer groups wrote lawmakers Monday. Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., expressed interest in attaching the American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act (S-1885) to must-pass legislation (see 1805180066). The bill “would establish driverless car policy for decades to come, but lacks even minimal safety protections,” the letter said. Attachment would be “extremely reckless,” given National Transportation Safety Board open investigations of crashes involving automated driving systems, said the Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Consumers League, Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Watchdog, Public Citizen and others.