Self-Driving Cars Far From Ready for Deployment, Congress Told

Fully autonomous vehicles are at least five years from deployment, potentially much longer, a Carnegie Mellon University professor told the House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Tuesday. Members of both parties cited the need to develop a road map for AVs so China doesn’t take the lead on future deployment.

AVs on the market are at level two on the Society of Automotive Engineers six-level scale of vehicle autonomy, said Ragunathan Rajkumar, who co-directs the General Motors-Carnegie Mellon Vehicular Information Technology Collaborative Research Lab. The classifications run from zero to five, with five full autonomy. Current vehicles can be driven autonomously only in well-defined environments, and the driver has to pay attention in order to intervene, he said. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., asked how important 5G is here. Critical, said Rajkumar, citing the role in enabling AVs to gather massive amounts of information, which will lead to safer, more reliable vehicles.

The U.S. holds the lead in AV preparedness, said Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. Congress must preserve and expand the advantage, he said, urging a balance of fast deployment, safety, workforce protection and environmental stewardship.

Bob Latta, R-Ohio, noted two Congresses have passed since the committee unanimously approved his AV legislation before recording a voice vote on the House floor (see 1708310055). There were 300-plus staff meetings to agree on everything from preemption to safety and cybersecurity.

Move bipartisan legislation to ensure the U.S. leads, said Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. The U.S. can’t trust China to set standards and protect intellectual property rights, she said. She asked witnesses if they agree China will take the lead if the U.S. doesn’t act. Rajkumar agreed. Center for Auto Safety Executive Director Jason Levine and AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan disagreed.

Driverless vehicles are in a “very early testing” stage and “have a long way to go,” noted subcommittee ranking member Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. The auto industry claims AVs could potentially eliminate all human-caused crashes, but it opposes efforts to establish safety standards, opting for a hands-off approach, said Pallone. He asked if industry can be trusted to self-regulate. Levine answered no, citing decades of failing to self-regulate dating back to the 1970s.

Members asked questions highlighting legal unknowns. Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., asked who's responsible if an AV strikes and kills a pedestrian. There are no truly driverless vehicles on the road now, so the driver has the responsibility, said Levine. Ultimately, manufacturers should be held liable for code defects, he added, and it’s important to retain local and state governments’ ability to determine rules of the road. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., asked why it’s important to keep these governments in charge of transportation regulations. Localities determines safety of roads, which is important for oversight and accountability, said Levine.

Lori Trahan, D-Mass., asked if workers will have recourse if they're harmed operating AVs. Generally, a driver bound by forced arbitration is unlikely to have recourse, and whatever is determined about the accident will likely be sealed, said Levine.