NACTO statement on first-ever driverless vehicle pedestrian fatality: We cannot afford for companies’ race-to-market to become a race-to-the-bottom for safety

Bicycle, pedestrian, transportation, and safety organizations around the country are coming to a consensus about the need for far stronger oversight and a robust safety culture around the development of driverless vehicles.

Current self-driving vehicle technology falls short when it comes to detecting people who walk and bicycle. We must ask Congress and federal oversight agencies for robust safety standards to ensure the safety of all road users, including the hundreds of millions of American who regularly walk and bicycle

Current driverless vehicle technology has a known blind spot in its inability to consistently identify and track the movement of people who bicycle and walk. Despite this known vulnerability, large corporations had pushed forward with live testing on public roads that has clearly put road users at unacceptable risk of injury and death.

The pedestrian fatality rate for Uber's self driving vehicles currently stands at 192 times higher than the rate for human drivers.  This is simply unacceptable.

NACTO statement: We cannot afford for companies’ race-to-market to become a race-to-the-bottom for safety

Linda Bailey, Executive Director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), issued the following statement in response to a pedestrian being killed by an automated vehicle in Tempe, AZ:

Last night, an autonomous vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, AZ. We do not know much yet about this incident—which is believed to be the first time someone walking or biking was killed by a vehicle operating autonomously in the U.S.

NACTO is encouraged that the National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to provide an in-depth, independent assessment of the tragic crash. However, what is already clear is that the current model for real-life testing of autonomous vehicles does not ensure everyone’s safety. While autonomous vehicles need to be tested in real-life situations, testing should be performed transparently, coordinated with local transportation officials, and have robust oversight by trusted authorities.

In order to be compatible with life on city streets, AV technology must be able to safely interact with people on bikes, on foot, or exiting a parked car on the street, in or out of the crosswalk, at any time of day or night. Cities need vehicles to meet a clear minimum standard for safe operations so the full benefits of this new technology are realized on our complex streets. Responsible companies should support a safety standard and call for others to meet one as well.

We cannot afford for companies’ race-to-market to become a race-to-the-bottom for safety.

(Emphasis added.)

NACTO is an association of 60 major North American cities formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues.

Uber's self-driving vehicles are 192 times more dangerous for people who bicycle and walk than are human drivers

At this time, the US Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Congress are all working on national regulations for the driverless vehicle industry.

All proposed regulations to date have called for deregulation of the industry, volunteer standards with voluntary compliance, and federal pre-emption of state regulation that might dare to impose stronger safety standards on the industry.

Driverless vehicle technology advocates have promised a system that is far, far safer than existing vehicles, which currently kill over 30,000 Americans annually and seriously injure millions more.

The promise of increased safety may be possible at some future date. But at present, Uber's self-driving system is 192 times more dangerous for people who walk and bicycle than human drivers are. 

Yet, that system with known flaws and extreme safety vulnerabilitys is allowed to operate on our public streets.

With that in mind, it is now crystal clear that the hands-off approach to autonomous vehicle safety is insufficient and ineffective.

MoBikeFed's call to action: Robust safety standards required; Driverless vehicles that do not properly and consistently recognize bicyclists and pedestrians should not be allowed to operate on public roadways

Just ten days ago we submitted comments to the US Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute asking that safety and access for the hundreds of millions of nonmotorized transportation users in the U.S. be prioritized in forthcoming regulations about the forthcoming roll-out of autonomous driving systems (ADS).

It is very unfortunate, just ten days later, to see how prescient these comments were and how important it is to build these principles into any future ADS vehicles before are allowed on our public roads:

• ADS systems that do not properly and consistently recognize bicyclists and pedestrians should not be allowed to operate on public roadways. All liability for injuries, deaths, and property damage under such systems must be the responsibility of the ADS creator or operator.
   
• ADS implementation must be implemented in a way the improved safety and mobility for all users, including the hundreds of millions of Americans who walk and bicycle on our public roads every day.  We are very concerned that current proposals for improving detection of people who walk and bicycle by ADS vehicles will result in additional restrictions on the mobility of non-motorized users. Autonomous vehicles must be implemented in a way that improves road safety, mobility, and access for all users, including nonmotorized users. Systems that do not meet these requirements should not be allowed on our public streets.
   
• ADS safety for all users of our transportation system must be a priority now, not simply in some distant possible future. ADS technology has the potential to greatly improve safety in our transportation system as a whole, and for people who walk and bicycle particularly. However, the exact laws, regulations, and manner of rolling out these new rules and regulations will have a decisive impact on whether that potential for improved access and safety for nonmotorized is completely realized or squandered.

Additionally, we reiterate the point made in the NACTO statement above:

• Testing of ADS system requires robust oversight, transparency, accountability, and real guarantees of safety performance. A hands-off or voluntary approach to safety performance is not acceptable. Scenarios or regulatory regimes where corporations are allowed to keep vehicle safety information and data secret are not acceptable. It is very clear now that the current model for real-life testing of autonomous vehicles does not ensure everyone’s safety. Testing should be performed transparently, coordinated with local transportation officials, and have robust oversight by trusted authorities. Responsible companies should support a safety standard and call for others to meet one as well.

We are not guinea pigs

People who walk and bicycle do not want to be guinea pigs in a massive public beta test of incomplete, untested systems that put our lives at risk.

We call on government agencies and elected bodies to exercise their oversight authority and responsible corporations to strong support a safety standard for autonomous vehicles that guarantees robust oversight, transparency, accountability, and guarantees of safety performance for autonomous vehicles at minimum equal to the current safety performance of human drivers.

How you can help - contact Congress

Congress is currently considering laws to regulate driverless cars, as are two separate federal agencies.   The regulations proposed so far are lax and assume that private corporations developing driverless vehicles are operating in good faith.

Unfortunately, we now know this is not the case, and that driverless cars are in fact many times (192 times, according to available data) more dangerous then human drivers for people who walk and bicycle.

Additionally, the proposed federal law will pre-empt state and local law--meaning that states or cities cannot enact stronger safety regulations to protect citizens.

You can help by contacting your own member of Congress and U.S. Senator with a message similar to this:

The recent incident in Arizona where a pedestrian was killed by a driverless car is a strong indication that driverless vehicle technology is not as robust and safe as technology companies have promised.

Current driverless vehicle systems have a known defect in not being able to adequately detect and track people who walk and bicycle.

Hundreds of millions of Americans walk and bicycle on our public roads daily and we need strong oversight of driverless vehicle companies in order to ensure the safety of their products. The currently proposed Senate AV START and House SELF DRIVE acts are not nearly sufficient in their requirements for oversight and safety standards.

A short, individualized message makes the most impact.  Just be sure you ask for stronger driverless vehicle standards than are currently proposed, and include your name and contact information so that your representatives know you are a real person and a constituent.

Find contact info for your own member of Congress and U.S. Senator here.

Improving safety for all road users is one of the four primary goals of MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri. Ensuring that self-driving automobile systems are safe for all road users, including those who walk and bicycle, is one of the ways we work towards that goal.

Your ongoing membership and generous financial support helps turn our Vision into reality!