TO THE EDITOR:
Regarding "House will try new tactic next year to pass AV bill, Dingell says" (autonews.com, Dec. 21): Good luck, Congress, and don't forget that minimum safety standards like vision and basic driving ability must first be proved to Department of Transportation officials before granting public license to drive on the road.
We must, above all, limit public safety risk. As with any new driver, human or robot, inexperience must pay for higher liability insurance coverage and must have restrictions on where and when it can drive.
The AV START Act of 2019 will be easy to keep clear and on focus within the authority that will administer the rules. DOT has authorized NHTSA to administer road safety standards, and NHTSA will have a new NCAP rating system starting in early 2019 for rating vehicles for crash protection and additionally for collision avoidance.
Congress must allow NHTSA to finish establishing production vehicle testing criteria for new collision-avoidance safety innovations first, then the additional rule-making for safely testing autonomous vehicles on public roads will be easily based on the safety facts proved and enforceable at limited speeds under specific road and weather conditions and not controversial visions of future possibilities.
Moving safely will keep us moving forward.
DAVID DeVEAU, Owner,DeVco Design & Development,Westfield, Mass.
The writer is an independent transportation safety advocate. DeVco Design & Development is an engineering consultancy.
