Automotive News Editor-in-Chief: Federal Government must act to curb self-driving tests on public roads

Keith Crain, Editor-in-Chief of Automotive New, has weighed in on an issue that is gaining increasing support across all sectors of the automotive and transportation industry: Our public roads and streets should not be available for unlimited testing of new and unproven technologies like self-driving vehicles. 

These vehicles must be subject to the same safety standards as existing vehicles and drivers, and any new technology must prove itself safe before the genera public is exposed to it:

It is painfully obvious that we -- and the U.S. government -- should not continue to allow car companies to use our streets and highways as if they are a private proving grounds intended solely for their use.

The use of public highways for unproven technology is foolhardy and reckless.

With all the automotive proving grounds that exist in the U.S. it simply does not make sense to continue to allow autonomous vehicles to be tested on public roads.

But what's even more important is that the federal government assure that these vehicles adhere to federal safety standards that have been around forever.

For some reason, the government and the manufacturers seem to be in cahoots to exempt autonomous vehicles from the same safety standards that exist for every other vehicle on the road today. Indeed, legislation before Congress would allow manufacturers to operate tens of thousands of cars with exemptions from many existing safety standards.

MoBikeFed comment: We have been working with bicycle and pedestrian groups as well as traffic safety advocates from across the country to encourage Congress to include a "driving test" in the proposed driverless vehicle regulations that are currently under discussion in the Senate.

Both Missouri senators play a key role in the "AV START Act" and you can contact them about this issue in just a few minutes by clicking here.

Based on our conversations with Senate staff, your voices ARE being heard in Washington, DC. But we need to keep up the pressure on our elected officials on this issue.