Republicans on a United States House committee believe approving a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles will help increase the amount of technology through the transportation landscape on the nation as a whole.
There are a number of benefits that would come about from the reliance on technology, which is pointed out by Republican Gus Bilirakis (R – Florida). Gus is the chairman of the House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee.
One potential benefit of added technology in transportation would be for senior citizens and those living with disabilities. This will help reduce barriers to testing, establishing standards for how it will be used across the world, and even provide certainty for businesses and consumers.
Other Republicans have also backed up Gus’s beliefs for technology in the transportation industry. Republic Cathy mcMorris Rogers (R – Washington), chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, believes that it is important for America to ensure the development and deployment of automated vehicles. This goes into the belief that America needs to preserve a domestic technological edge over their main competitor: China. In order to be the leaders in the future, the United States have to take the lead on automated vehicles.
This is such an emphasis in Congress that a bipartisan group of lawmakers created the Congressional Autonomous Vehicle Caucus. The goal of this group is to create a federal framework that will guide agencies and industries in the deployment of autonomous vehicles.
Industry stakeholders continue to put pressure on Congress to manage access to the marketplace for the components of technology for the vehicles. Jeff Farrah, executive director of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, believes that Congress should create legislation that outlines statutory and regulatory requirements. By creating this legislation, America will be able to maintain their lead in the automated vehicle industry.
In addition to the potential benefits for senior citizens or disabled drivers, the freight industry also has a few potential benefits. Increasing the efficiencies of the supply chain, increasing the workforce, and addressing safety operations are just some of the potential benefits. Automated vehicle trucking has the potential to decrease the cost of goods, while improving interstate commerce, and even make the roads safer for everyone.
For those worried about truckers losing their jobs, this really should not be an issue as there is a truck driver shortage as of now. Based on the most recent data by the American Trucking Associations, the trucking industry is short about 78,000 drivers.
The Biden Administration has been looking into the safety concerns in terms of freight and passenger mobility corridors. For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation created the National Roadway Safety Strategy campaign in an effort to reduce serious injuries and casualties along roadways. It is estimated that traffic crashes cost thousands of American lives each year, which has created a national crisis on the roadways. Pete Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary, believes that all people in America, private industry, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, and each level of government must come together to create a safe environment on the road.
The American Trucking Association supports the effort to create a safe environment. This will be accomplished through the Share the Road program, Law Enforcement Advisory Board and an increase in work zone safety awareness b the American Trucking Association. Dan Horvath, ATA Vice President of safety policy, believes it is vital to educate the public on safely sharing the road with large trucks, create safe driving habits in construction zones, and improve the relationship between the trucking industry and law enforcement to address highway safety issues.
Other companies like INRIX, a mobility analytics company, are working to provide services to improve highway safety. For example, the Safety View cloud-based application is created to help agencies with “Vision Zero” plans to arrive at zero traffic-related deaths. Bryan Mistele, the co-founder and chief executive officer of INRIX, believes that now is the time to invest time and money to inform the future of roadway networks and even identify how things vary in terms of demographics.
Overall, there are many industries throughout America that see the potential advantages of automated vehicles. Quite possibly the most important is the current administration on both sides of the political parties. Republicans in particular have been placing an emphasis on creating a regulatory system on automated vehicles to lead the charge in the automotive industry. There are a number of advantages automated vehicles may have on regular life, but the trucking industry will see a major boost in safety features, an increase in supply chain efficiency, and even drive down inflation.
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