TO THE EDITOR:
After reading "Regulators receive a road map toward smart self-driving vehicle policies" (autonews.com, Nov. 24), I read the World Economic Forum's "Safe Drive Initiative" community paper. It is now understandable why the U.S. would favor a voluntary approach as compared to Singapore, which is taking a strong government-controlled approach.
Between these two extremes are countries like Germany that are still allowing innovation to drive itself but are controlling safety by creating a harmonized approach to data acquisition, definition and labeling.
From an engineering perspective, there are the SAE-J3016, ANSI/UL-4600, ISO-26262 and ISO/PAS-21448 standards, but these are industry-based, and policymakers are being advised to only be aware of them and to not use engineering standards directly for regulations.
One common theme introduced in the paper is evaluating conditions at maximum speeds.
I may be getting ahead of myself, but the use of the 10 Star Speed Safety Ratings System Sticker by NHTSA in the Federal Register is a sure sign that the U.S., while still allowing industry to drive innovation, is on the path of creating a harmonized approach to data acquisition, definition and labeling.
Through the New Car Assessment Program division of NHTSA, the U.S. and all countries using NCAP to rate safety features can set a common governmental regulatory oversight that each state or region can use as a base line to ensure public safety.
DAVID DeVEAU, Owner, DeVco Design & Development, Westfield, Mass. The writer is an independent transportation safety advocate. DeVco Design & Development is an engineering consultancy.
