Federal Policy Needed for Autonomous Vehicles Says Utah DOT Director
WASHINGTON — A national regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles would ensure safety standards are the same across states, the chief of Utah’s Department of Transportation told senators on March 1.
“We have to develop the standards for us to be able to communicate. So we need to have consistent standards for the vehicles to have that communication to our infrastructure and back forth,” Utah DOT executive director Carlos Braceras said at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on rural transportation.
Lawmakers also should avoid policies that could potentially hinder innovation through excessive regulations. “We need to find just that minimum that we need to be able to regulate,” Braceras said. “Then let’s back away.”
The policies should aim to help firms crafting vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies with enhancing communication along interstates. Connected infrastructure, in which trucks and cars link their sensors to roadways, bridges and signs would help to reduce driver error significantly, Braceras added, speaking in his role as secretary-treasurer of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
In Utah, transportation officials have been testing connected vehicle technology for several years. DOT partnered with Peloton Technologies to test a system designed to enable platooning of two-tractor-trailer rigs on a stretch of Interstate 80. While drivers steer the trucks, an automated system controls acceleration, responds instantly to changes in speed of the front truck 50 feet ahead, as well as respond to road hazards up to 800 feet away.
State DOTs in Arizona, Ohio, California, Nevada and Texas also are testing autonomous vehicles that connect with other vehicles and the infrastructure where they operate.
The Trump administration is reviewing guidance on autonomous vehicles to determine the next steps for advancing regulations, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao told governors on Feb. 26.
