Majority Statement

• Chairman John Thune
  Read statement

  Majority Statement

  Chairman John Thune

  Good morning.  Self-driving vehicles have the potential to make transportation smarter, safer, and more accessible.  A little over a year ago, we held the first hearing ever in Congress focusing on this technology and had the opportunity to see some of these new vehicles in action.
  
  Today, we will be discussing the great potential of this technology, but also the numerous policy questions we will need to address in order to facilitate the testing and safe deployment of these vehicles without delay.
  
  Self-driving vehicles are poised to bring enormous disruption to our transportation networks that will improve our lives and our society.  Indeed, the CEO of General Motors has said that she envisions more change in the auto industry in the next five years than have occurred in the last 50.  
  
  For many Americans, that change can’t come soon enough.  In 2015, over 35,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States – or nearly 100 people per day.  That includes car and truck drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, and pedestrians.  Worldwide, we lose on average 3,500 people per day.
  
  With more than 90 percent of those deaths attributable to human error, self-driving vehicles – which, after all, can’t fall asleep, use drugs or alcohol, or get distracted by texting – have the potential to reduce these tragic numbers dramatically.  Drunk driving, in particular, has been a significant challenge, and I appreciate Mothers Against Drunk Driving for being here today to discuss this issue.
  
  Self-driving vehicles also have the potential to improve mobility for many Americans and fundamentally change the way many of us get around.
  
  Offering new means of accessible transportation, including for our nation’s seniors, and lessening congestion will improve productivity and efficiency in all of our lives.  Strategy Analytics and Intel predict self-driving technology will enable a new global passenger economy worth $7 trillion by 2050, representing an incredible transformation of the world economy.
  
  Self-driving vehicles are no longer a dream of science fiction.  The stepping stones to self-driving vehicles are already in cars on the road today – technologies like automatic emergency braking and lane keeping are proving their worth.
  
  While technology challenges still exist, manufacturers are becoming increasingly confident that the technology for fully self-driving vehicles will be ready by 2021, just a few short years away.  In fact, just last week, I rode in a level 3 Audi A7 prototype.  The company plans to release a level 3 vehicle to the public next year.
  
  Manufacturers are asking for regulatory certainty now so that, when the time comes, they will be able to deploy these vehicles.These great changes are coming fast, and the federal government must be ready to keep pace.
  
  As other countries devote significant attention and effort to stimulating this technology, strong federal leadership will be necessary to maintain our position as a global leader of this innovation.
  
  There are several hurdles to achieving this goal, and Senator Peters, Ranking Member Nelson, and I are working together on possible legislative solutions.  Just yesterday, we released principles for bipartisan legislation to guide this effort.
  
  The transportation laws and regulations currently on the books did not contemplate the concept of self-driving vehicles.
  
  Current federal motor vehicle safety standards do not address automated technologies, and in some cases directly conflict with them.  We are looking for ways to address these conflicts in dated rules without weakening the important vehicle safety protections they provide.
  
  We also must be careful to avoid picking winners and losers in this space.  Self-driving vehicles may employ different technologies, and their deployment may follow varying business models.  So, it is important for Congress not to favor one path before the market figures out what really works best.
  
  While we look for ways to help self-driving vehicles get on the road quickly, we need to make sure that safety remains our number one priority.
  
  Industry must find ways to show the technology is safe and reliable to address public skepticism.  The federal government must also recognize that it does not have all the answers.  Instead, it must seek outside technology expertise to begin the hard work of updating existing standards and setting new rules.
  
  As I’ve said before, government needs to challenge itself to overcome the traditional 20th century conception – and regulation – of a car and a human driver.
  
  AVs will – over time – bring changes to jobs, insurance, law enforcement, infrastructure, and many other things we cannot yet foresee.  Similar to when the car was first invented, these challenges are not insurmountable.  I remain committed to a thoughtful discussion with today’s panelists, who share my goal to maintain American innovation leadership and make safety paramount.
  
  I look forward to working with my colleagues as we move forward with potential legislation, and I now turn to Ranking Member Nelson for his opening statement.

Testimony

• Mr. Mitch Bainwol

  President and Chief Executive Officer

  Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
  Download Testimony (192.47 KB)

• Mr. Rob Csongor

  Vice President and General Manager of Automotive Business

  NVIDIA Corporation
  Download Testimony (68.94 KB)

• Mr. John Maddox

  President and Chief Executive Officer

  American Center for Mobility, Ypsilanti, Michigan
  Download Testimony (15.84 KB)

  Download Testimony (863.78 KB)

• Ms. Colleen Sheehey-Church

  National President

  Mothers Against Drunk Driving
  Download Testimony (88.75 KB)