Trump’s EPA Rattles Self-Driving Car Industry by Picking ‘Winners and Losers,’ Critics Claim by Joe Williams, Washington Examiner
Critics are blasting a new Environmental Protection Agency rule that they claim breaks the Trump administration’s commitment not to arbitrarily pick winners and losers in the self-driving car market. Tucked into the EPA’s proposed Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient, or SAFE, Vehicles rule released in August is language that would give companies credit toward emissions standards for producing cars that include vehicle-to-vehicle communication capabilities—technology that allows autonomous cars to exchange speed and position information with each other to prevent accidents. The EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are suggesting that the credit, which might be granted without a requirement for corroborating evidence that the technology reduces carbon dioxide output, be tied to a car’s ability to transmit data using dedicated shortrange communications, or DSRC, which relies upon a specific wireless spectrum to blast out signals. Shortly before President Trump
was sworn into office, the Obama administration released a controversial draft rule mandating that DSRC be used in autonomous cars. The Trump administration reportedly shelved the proposal, and some manufacturers are starting to use cellular communication instead, which proponents argue is more reliable and has a longer range. Companies such as Audi and Ford have embraced the technology and demonstrated it in vehicles earlier this year. Toyota and General Motors, meanwhile, have adopted DSRC, though it’s unclear why that system was chosen by the EPA. Neither manufacturer responded to inquires about whether it had lobbied for the provision. GM, which offered dedicated short-range communications in some 2017 Cadillac sedans, pledged in July to expand it to other vehicles. Other manufacturers such as Tesla and Mercedes-Benz raised concerns over the technology’s security vulnerabilities, however, and critics of the EPA proposal say the Department of Transportation, which encompasses the traffic safety administration and has repeatedly stressed that it would
take a technology-neutral approach to regulating self-driving vehicles, is reneging on its commitment. “If they were to go forward with this, this would violate the [agency’s] pledge to technology neutrality,” Marc Scribner, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner. “What they are doing is picking technology winners and losers.” That might be happening at the expense of better, safer options. “It creates, inadvertently, technological lock-in,” Ryan Hagemann, senior director for policy at the Niskanen Center, said in an interview. “You are more likely to simply rest on your laurels and default to what the standard is rather than trying to improve on top of it.” Scribner said the provision could also spur other companies to “lobby to try to gain similar favors in the future for their particular technologies” and anger environmentalists who were already critical of the data EPA used to justify credits. “It could wind up putting a big target on the entire program’s back,” he said. The EPA directed inquiries to
Autonomous Vehicles May Hit U.S. Roads Under Pilot Project by Mario L. Major, Interesting Engineering
The U.S. DOT and NHTSA, two key agencies involved in the automotive industry, are both making efforts to be more inclusive of the emerging autonomous car industry.
Credit: Pexels
Autonomous cars, self-driving cars, unmanned cars, driverless cars ... Whatever we choose to name them, they are entering our lives in unprecedented numbers, with almost every major car company in the world dramatically stepping up efforts to enter the market or laying out concrete plans to do so via the ever-effective concept car unveilings. Although it is clear that the industry is on board with developing 4
autonomous vehicle technology, it is equally important to have healthy engagement and support from local governments. For this reason, the recent announcement of an autonomous vehicle pilot program being considered by the Trump Administration is drawing attention. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the powerful agency that serves as the final authority on deciding which vehicles get to hit the roads in the United States, it is behind the initiative. In the report on the program, which calls for collaborative research with the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), the agency indicated the program was developed to understand “how best to foster the safe development and implementation of ADS vehicle technologies on our nation’s roadways.” This move also coincides with the announcement of a new set of vehicle safety ratings. The NHTSA already has in place a clear set of the six levels of driver assistance tech-
DECEMBER 2018 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
nology advancements, which is another endorsement of the technology, but this new program would play a big role in helping reduce some of the technical obstacles (lack of pedals or steering wheels), which seem to place heavier restrictions on automated car use. Agency Support Is Shifting in the U.S. The support, though reserved, of the NHTSA represents a strong official endorsement of the growing influence of autonomous vehicles and more importantly, offers the symbolic meaning of government and industry coming together around this vital technology. It also helps to quiet the critics, lobbyists and various members of government who voice opposition to the vehicles based on concerns about safety. Another positive development is a U.S. DOT-supported effort to simplify the legal frameworks surrounding autonomous vehicles. The U.S. DOT provided an 80-page document titled “Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0.” “The safe integration of automated vehicle technology into our transportation system will increase
the Department of Transportation, which referred inquiries to the traffic safety administration. That organization said it would carefully consider all comments before enacting a final rule. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which counts GM and Toyota as members, also supported DSRC. Executives at the group met with officials from the transportation department, the EPA and the Office of Management and Budget in June to discuss the SAFE Vehicles rule. A spokesman for the group was unaware whether the provision was discussed. “If those types of credits were brought up, they would have played a very minor role in the discussion,” he said in an emailed response to inquiries. While self-driving technology is an unconventional means of reducing toxic emissions from vehicles, it is effective, he added. “The agencies should incentivize the adoption of these technologies and provide for possibly additional credit,” he said. We thank Washington Examiner for reprint permission.
productivity, facilitate freight movement and create new types of jobs,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao. The goal of the program is to (1) provide a framework for communication between industry and the U.S. DOT, (2) identify in greater clarity any existing policy issues and (3) create a blueprint of multi-modal safety that incorporates autonomous vehicles. The agency also makes clear its commitment to overhauling the language it uses in order to create standards that take into account the new technological reality of autonomous vehicles: “U.S. DOT will modernize or eliminate outdated regulations that unnecessarily impede the development of automated vehicles or that do not address critical safety needs. Whenever possible, the department will support the development of voluntary, consensus-based technical standards and approaches that are flexible and adaptable over time.” We thank Interesting Engineering for reprint permission.
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