Event

Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) will lead a Subcommittee roundtable policy discussion next week to discuss the impact of autonomous vehicle technology on the Nation’s surface transportation systems.

The purpose of the roundtable is to educate Members on the rapid development of autonomous vehicles and how this technology could shape the future of America’s surface transportation systems.

The expanded deployment of autonomous vehicle technologies across the different levels of automation is likely to have tremendous impacts on the nation’s surface transportation system, including improving transportation efficiency, safety, and mobility. For example, NHTSA estimates that in 2015 there were 35,200 traffic fatalities, ninety-four percent of which were caused by human errors that might have been prevented by autonomous vehicle technology. Autonomous commercial motor vehicles, transit and ridesharing coud also provide opportunities and challenges for cities and states that will need to modernize their transportation systems.

The roundtable will explore these effects in context of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which took a technology-neutral approach to promote competition and innovation in autonomous transportation technology, while establishing grant programs to speed their development.  

The Subcommittee roundtable, entitled “Getting Smart on Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities and Challenges for Transportation Transformation,” is scheduled to begin at 10:00am on Tuesday, December 6^th in 2167 Rayburn House Office building.

Media Notice: The roundtable is open to the public and the media.  However, video recording is not permitted.

Roundtable participants:

·      Hon. Blair Anderson, Under Secretary for Policy, United States Department of Transportation

·      Mr. Chris Spear, President and CEO, American Trucking Associations (ATA)

·      Hon. David Strickland, Counsel and Spokesperson, Self-driving Coalition for Safer Streets

·      Mr. David Zuby, Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

·      Mr. Kevin Acklin, Chief of Staff and Chief Development Officer, City of Pittsburgh

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