Autonomous Vehicle Consultant

Politico recently commented on driverless vehicle regulations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “NHTSA’s guidance for self-driving cars left open the possibility that the agency could seek the power to approve vehicle prototypes before they hit the market…If the federal government had to certify ‘every model, every car,’ it would be a ‘huge barrier to entry and could affect how quickly car models could be introduced,’ said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association.”

The Hill recently reported, “NHTSA uses the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pre-market regulatory powers as an example of the type of process they would like to emulate…The FAA certification often lasts three to five years…That fact alone should foreclose further discussion about the wisdom of NHTSA employing an FAA-like pre-market approval regime for driverless cars.” As a worst case scenario, nearly 150,000 motorists would have died during a five-year approval review.  Note that there are currently more than 30,000 annual vehicle fatalities in the United States

What’s more important, expanding Government regulations or saving lives?

J. H. Everson SBIR Consultant