Safety

Considerationsfor

AutonomousVehicles

FreshConsulting

TableofContents

3Intro

5CurrentStateoftheIndustry

10ThePlayers:Companies,Governments,andAdvocacyGroups

23SafetyConsiderationsforAutonomousVehiclesandRobotics

32OutlookandPredictions

2

Intro

Fullyautonomousvehicleshavethepotentialtofreeuphumantimeand

a

thistechnologyislong,butengineershavebeenworkingtowardsrealizingthe

technologyforalmost100years.

In?veyears,theself-drivingcarwillcelebrateitsone-hundredthbirthday.Yes,self-

drivingvehiclesarealmostacenturyold.

In1925,theHoudinaRadioControlcompanydebutedthe“AmericanWonder,”

a1926Chandlerautomobilethatwasequippedwithradio-controlledsteering.1

Houdina’steamfollowedtheAmericanWonderdownthestreetsofNewYork,

controllingitviaremotecontrol.Inthelate‘70s,Stanfordresearcherscreatedwhat

couldbeconsideredthe?rstexampleoftrulyautonomousdriving;theirStanford

Cartwasabletoindependentlynavigatearoomfullofchairsin5hours.2Thecart

pausedfor10to15minutesa

andchooseitsnextpath.

We’vecomealongwaysincetheseprojects—inthe1990s,engineerswere?nally

abletocreatefully-autonomouscarsthattravelatspeedsacceptableforUS

roadways.Thetechhasnotdevelopedinavacuum;everyotherareaofthetech

industryhasadvancedaswell,broadeningthecapabilitiesofthemodernself-

drivingvehicle.Today,semi-autonomoussystems,likeTesla’sAutopilot,areso

capablethatcustomersfeelcomfortablepuvehicleonautopilotfor95

percentofacoast-to-coastroadtrip.34

We’restillafewyearsawayfrombeingabletocatchaself-drivingcab,butstill

closerthanmostpeopleprobablyrealize.Ifthetechnologyforautonomous

vehicleshasbeenaroundsinceatleastthe90s,whyhaven’tweseenmoreLevel3

andLevel4autonomousvehicles5availableforpurchasebythepublic?

Theanswertothisquestioncomesdowntooneareaoftheautonomousvehicle

industry:safety.Safetyisperhapsthemostchallengingaspectofcreating

areliableautonomousvehicle,ataskthatisalreadyimmenselychallenging.

Maintainingsafetyinavehiclewithoutahumanbehindthewheelrequires

adaptability,predictivebehavior,advancedcomputervision,legislation,anddata-

basedresearch,allofwhichhavetakenthelastthirtyyearstoreachnear-maturity.

Throughoutthispaper,we’lldiscusstheobstaclestosafetyintheautonomous

vehicleindustry,thereasonit’ssoessentialtorealizingtheautonomousvehicle

vision,andthekeyplayerspropellingthatvisionforward.Anewtechnologyleapis

justafewstepsawayfromhi

goingtotaketocompletethose?nalsteps.

CurrentStateoftheIndustry

Forsomanygenerations,self-drivingvehicleshavebeenafantasyforscientists

andconsumersalike,capturingimaginationsacross?lmandliterature.Overthe

lastdecade,however,thatfantasyhasquicklysteppedintoreality,andforthe?rst

timewe’rebeginningtoseehigh-levelautonomousvehicleswithintheautomotive

industry.Whilethistechnologyhasrapidlyprogressed,thesafetystandardsand

regulationshavelagged,andwenow?ndourselvesatapointintimewherethe

techisrapidlyapproachingfruition,butourinfrastructureandregulationisnot

movingwiththesamevigor.

SafetyastheBasisforAutonomousVehicles

Despitehowclosewearetoself-drivingcars,completelyautomatedhighwaysstill

seemlikeathingofthefuture.Thoughit’seasytosaythatself-drivingcarshave

startedtoenterthemainstreamoverthelastdecadethankstocompanieslike

Tesla,thisisn’tanentirelyaccuratepictureofautonomousvehicles.Itwasactually

in1995,whenagroupfromCarnegieMellonUniversitydrove(orrodein)a98.2%

autonomousvehicleacrossAmerica,thatthe?rstimagesofautomatedcarsreally

startedtocomeintofocus.6

Giventhatridingacrossthecountryinanautonomousvehiclewasalreadypossible

in1995,youmaybewonderingwhattheholdupisinbringingautonomousvehicles

toconsumers.Howweretheseyoungscientistsabletoaccomplishsomethingthat

thebiggestmotorvehiclecompaniesintheworldstillhaveyettoachieve?

Theanswer,ofcourse,liesinthatlast1.8%ofautomation,arguablythemost

importantsliceofthepercentagepie.Thatpercentistheautomationofthe

unpredictable—makingself-drivingvehicles100%safeinsituationsthattypical

engineeringcan’taccountfor.Thisincludeswater-?lledpotholesthattrickvehicle

sensors,pedestriansonthesideoftheroadsuddenlydecidingtocrossthestreet,

looseterrain,glareinterferingwithcameras,fallenpowerlines,iceontheroads,

andfallingobjects,justtonameafewchallenges.Thelast1.8%includesanything

thatahumanbraincouldquicklyadaptto,butthatrequiresmoresubtletythan

mostcomputerscienceiscurrentlycapableof.

Withouta100%safetyguaranteeofautonomousvehicles,we’reunlikelytosee

themadoptedintodailyroutines.

SafetyastheLongPole

SinceDARPA?rstheldaseriesofdriverlessvehiclecompetitionsbetween2005

and2007,self-drivingvehicleshavebeeninR&Dmode,withcompaniesalloverthe

worldstrivingtocreatethemostfeature-rich,excitingdriverlesscartheworldhas

everseen.Intheprocess,though,safetyhasbeenputonthebackburner,delaying

thepossibilityofautonomousvehiclesforeveryone.Therehasbeenalackof

companyandindustryinvestmentintheearlydevelopmentphasesforautonomous

vehicles,whichincludesafety.Safetyistime-andcapital-intensive,andventure

capitalistswillneedtoaccommodatethiswithintheirinvestmentportfolioin

orderfortheindustrytoreachthelevelsofreliabilityneededtosendautonomous

vehiclesoutontopublicroadways.

Althoughit’stakenalongtime(andwillcontinuetotakesometime)toachieve

full100%reliabilityinautonomousvehicles,that’scertainlynottosaythatno

progresshasbeenmadeinthelast25years.Inthelast?veyearsalone,theself-

drivingindustryhasmademajorstrides,bringingsubstantialautomatedfeatures

toconsumerandindustrialvehiclesalike.Thesefeaturesarealsobecomingmore

a?ordable,increasingthespreadofthetechnology.

6

Today,companiesare?nallystartingtohavethetechnologyavailabletobring

automatedvehiclesonpublicroadwaysenmasse;inthepast6-12months,

numerouscompanieshavebeenreadyingtheirLevel3and4vehicledeployments.

Whileexciting,thisfurtherhighlightstheneedfor(andabsenceof)modernsafety

regulationsandimplementationswithintheautonomousvehicleindustry.

Therearestandardsandcerti?cationsforvehiclesandroadwaysthroughoutall

ofthemodernworld.Whiletheseregulationsarerelevanttoautonomousvehicle

safety,theydon’tcoverthebroadanduniqueconcernsofallowingautonomous

vehiclesonpublicroadways.Tra?clawsandinsuranceregulationsneedclearer

directivesaswellasautonomousvehicleindustrystandardsandrequirements.For

Level3,4,and5autonomousvehiclestostartleavingthefactory?oor,it’sessential

thatthetechnologybecomeregulatedwithsafetyasthetoppriority.Then,and

onlythen,willweseeself-drivingcartechnologymovefromexcitingtopractical.

ChallengesofSafetyinAutonomousVehicles

We’veestablishedwhysafetyma

sakeofdevelopment,thespeedofautonomousvehicledeploymenthasbeen

hampered.However,weareyettodiveintothecomplexitiesandchallengesof

implementingsafetyinautonomousvehicles.

Wetendtotakethedi?cultyofdrivingavehicleforgranted,consideringthatmost

teenagerslearnhowtodoitsuccessfullyinafewmonths.Butthehumanbrainis

abletoadapttounpredictablecircumstances,andthehumaneyeismorecapable

thanmostautonomoussensorsandautonomousvehicleAI(arti?cialintelligence)7.

Tryingtoapproximatethecapabilitiesandsituationalawarenessofthehuman

braininavehicleleadstocreatingamachinethatisoverwhelminglycomplicated.

Thechallengeofimplementingsafetyintoanautonomousvehiclemeansnotonly

accountingforunpredictablecircumstancesontheroad,butalsothepotential

errors,bugs,andshortcomingsofeverypieceoftechwithinthevehicle.Creating

astandardizedmeansforevaluatingeachsensor,circuitboard,andalgorithm—

withoutanylong-termdatatobasethesedecisionson—willsettheautomobile

industrybackseveraldecades,despitehowforward-lookingthetechnologyis.

8

Additionally,there’stheissueofhowquicklythetechnologyandoursocietyis

goingtochangeoncethesevehiclesareontheroad.Youcanviewthisona

smallscalebylookingatdocklessscooters,whichhavebecomecommonplace

inmostmajorU.S.cities.Almostovernight,thesedevicesexplodedinpopularity.

However,theyalsoposedunpredictedissuesthatnocityhadeverdealtwith

before:amassiveincreaseintwo-wheeledtra?c,electricscootersandbikesbeing

abandonedinrandomareas,andnoobviousaccountabilityforaccidentsandle

devices.

Withself-drivingvehicles,thereareboundtobeevenmoreunanticipatedissues.

Theywillchangeparkinglaws,accountability,insurance,vehicle-on-pedestrian

accidents,commuting,publictransportation,lawenforcement,speedlimits,and

muchmore.Alackofconsistentregulationandindustrystandardswillcompound

theseissues,creatingasituationthatisfarmorecomplicatedandnuancedthan

thechallengesofmicro-transportation.8

Finally,enduserandmarketperceptionisanimportantconsideration.Therewill

notonlyneedtobeaframeworkforreliablydeveloping,testing,andregulating

autonomousvehicles,butcompanieswillalsoneedtoconvinceconsumersthat

theirsolutionshavebeenrigorouslytestedtoensuretherearenogapsinthe

vehiclecapabilities.Inshort,therearemanyhurdlesle

self-drivingvehiclesbecomeubiquitous.

9

ThePlayers:Companies,

Governments,andAdvocacy

Groups

Althoughthereareseveralexcitingnewindustriesonthehorizon,including

augmentedreality9,robotics,andtheInternetofThings,nonehavegenerated

abuzzthatrivalstheexcitementofautonomousvehicles.This,coupledwiththe

complexlegalimplicationsofself-drivingvehicles,hasledestablishedautomotive

companies,techcompanies,startups,governmentagencies,international

organizations,andadvocacygroupstoparticipateinthedevelopmentof

autonomousvehicles.Below,we’vecompiledalistofsomemajorindustryplayers

workingtoadvancesafetyintheautonomoussector.

Companies

Waymo

Waymostartedin2009astheGoogleSelf-DrivingCarProject.10Sincethen,the

projecthasbecomeitsowncompany.Waymowasthe?rstcompanytoplacea

fullydriverlessvehicleonpublicroads,deployingavehiclethathadnosteering

wheelor?oorpedalsonAustinroadsin2015.11Itwasalsothe?rstcompanytoo?er

driverlessrideserviceinPhoenix.12

Waymohasbeenoneofthemostprominent?guresintheself-drivingindustry

topushforsafetystandards.Ina2018reportbytheCaliforniaDMV,Waymoled

theindustryinbothsafetyanddistance,reportingthemostmileagecoveredwith

theleastamountofincidents.13Waymo’svehiclewasshowntoaccuratelypredict

cyclistbehavior,detectchildrenatacrosswalk,andotherimpressivefeats.

ImageSource:Waymo

Edge-Case-Research

Edge-Case-ResearchisacompanyfoundedbyautonomyexpertsfromCarnegie

MellonUniversity,whosestudentsledoneofthe?rstautonomousroadtrips.14

Thecompanyworkswithbusinessesdevelopingautonomoussystems,primarily

autonomousvehicles,toensuretheendproductisn’tjustexcitingandfeature-

packed,butalsorigorouslytestedforsafety.

Edge-Case-Researcho?ersproductsdesignedtotacklesafetyintheautonomous

vehicleindustry.15Hologramisoneoftheirprogramsthattestsroadperception

systemsinsituationsthatcancausethemtofail.AndSwitchboardo?ersasimple

stress-testenginethatrandomly“fuzzes”anAIsystemtocheckforvulnerabilities.16

OEMs(OriginalEquipmentManufacturers)

Althoughthetwocompanieslistedabovearepioneersofsafetyintheautonomous

vehicleindustry,therearemanymorecompaniespushingtheindustryforwardwith

asafety-?rstmindset.OneofthemostprominentexamplesistheSafetyFirstFor

AutomatedDrivinginitiative,asetofguidelinesputtogetherbyelevencompanies

intheself-drivingindustry,includingAudi,BMW,FiatChrysler,andIntel.17

TheSafetyFirstforAutomatedDrivinginitiativeproposessafetystandardsthat

allsigningpartieswillaimtoadhereto,suchascreatingfallbacksincasecritical

componentsfail,implementingdefensesagainstsecuritythreatssuchashacking,

andmonitoringpassengerstodeterminetheirabilitytotakeoverthevehicleinan

emergency.Othercoalitionslikethishavebeenformedaswell,liketheSelf-Driving

CoalitionforSaferStreets,showingthatautonomousvehiclemanufacturers

areactivelyworkingtocreatesafetyregulationswithintheindustry.18Another

collectiveprojectworthmentioningistheAutonomousVehicleComputing

Consortium(AVCC),agroupofautomotivesuppliers,OEMs,andindustryleaders

(includingBosch,Mazda,GM,Toyota,andothers)workingtocreateashared

computingarchitecturetoadvancetheworkofitsmembers.19

12

RideSharingCompanies

Theriseofautonomousvehiclesposesaninterestingquestion:ifavehicle

doesn’tneedadriver,doesanyonereallyneedtoownavehicle?Public

transportationserviceshavemostlybeenlimitedtometroareasintheU.S.,

leavingindividualsinruralareasorwithlongercommutestheneedtopurchase

theirownvehicles.Butasremoteworkbecomesmorecommonplaceandself-

drivingvehicleseliminatetheneedforpaiddrivers,whynothaveautonomous

vehiclesavailableineverycityandtownacrossthecountry?

Thisisthevisionofjustabouteveryridesharingcompanyatthemoment.

BothLythe

onlywaytheirbusinessescansurviveinthefuture.20However,ridesharing

companies(namelyUber)havealsofacedthehighestnumberofpublicissues

whenitcomestoautonomousvehiclesafety.

Uber’sself-drivingvehiclestragicallyhitapedestrianinanerrorthatproved

fatal:thevehiclewasprogrammedonlytodetectpedestriansatcrosswalks,

andhadnotbeentaughttorecognizejaywalkersaspedestrians.21Its

automaticemergencybrakinghadalsobeendisabled.22Thisisonlyoneof

37crashesthatoccurredasaresultofUber’sself-drivingvehicleprogram,

highlightingtheneedforstrictsafetystandardsintheautonomousvehicle

space.

13

TruckingCompanies

Thetruckingindustryispositionedtobeoneofthemostsuccessfuladoptersof

automateddriving.Autonomousdrivingismuchmorepredictablethanconsumer

drivingandlargelyconsistsofmaintainingspeedandawarenessforhundredsof

miles.However,truckingisalreadyahigh-fatality23occupation,makingsafety

evenmoreimportantforsemi-trucksandotherlong-distancetransportation

vehiclesthanfortheaverageconsumercar.

Onewaythattruckingcompaniesarelookingtomaximizethesafetyof

autonomousvehiclesisthrough“platooning.”24Platooningiswhenseveral

transportationtrucksformarowonthehighway.Withautonomoussystemsin

place,thisallowsallofthetrucksintheplatoontousedatabeinggatheredbythe

?rsttruck,thesecondtruck,andsoon,sothateachtruckhasanabundanceof

datatobasesafedecisionson.

Whilethisconceptworksintheory,theissueofcourseis:whathappenswhenone

vehiclemisinterpretsapieceofdataandpassesittotheothertrucksascorrect?

Forexample,saythere’safallentreeontheroadthatthe?rsttruckdoesn’tdetect.

Thecostofasinglemiscalculationinthetruckingindustrycanbemuchworsethan

inotherautonomousvehicleusecases.

14

ManagementConsultingFirms

Managementconsulting?rms,particularlythoseinthetechindustry,areinvesting

heavilyinautonomousvehicleresearchinordertoprovidetheirclientswiththemost

up-to-dateinformationpossible.Thegoalformanyofthese?rmsistoeducatetheir

clientsonthepossibilitiesoftheindustry,bothgoodandbad,andonhowtoleverage

theopportunitiesautonomousvehicleswillcontinuetobring.Onewaymanagement

consulting?rmsdothisisbyobservingtheautonomousindustry’sdevelopmentin

multiplecountriesandsharingthatinformationwiththeirclients,providingaglobal

perspectiveonthesector.25Other?rms,likeCAVita,arefocusedonhelpingpublic

andprivateentitiescapitalizeonthelesser-knownimpactsofautonomousvehicles.26

AutoInsuranceCompanies

Oneoftheindustriesexpectedtobethemostdisruptedbyautonomousvehicles

istheautoinsuranceindustry.Thisdisruptioncomesdowntoasimplequestion:in

afullyorsemi-autonomousvehicle,whoisliable,andtowhatextent?Traditional

insurancecompaniesarehavingahardtimedeterminingthis.Instead,they’reraising

ratesforautonomousvehicleownerstocovertheuncertaintythesevehiclespose.

Someinsurancecompanies,likeAvinew,arebeingfoundedsolelytoaddress

theseunknowns,o?ering?exibleserviceslikereducedratesthemoredriversuse

autonomousdriving.27Forthemostpart,it’sexpectedthatmanufacturerswill

assumetheresponsibilityofvehicleinsurance.Withautonomouscarsdrastically

reducingvehicleaccidents,however,therequirementofinsurancemightbecome

lessandlessimportant,whichcouldcauseinsuranceratestofallsigni?cantly.

Otherinsurers,likeAAA,areenthusiasticadvocatesforautonomousvehicles,

despitetheuncertainties.AAApartnerswithWaymotoeducateconsumers

aboutautonomousvehiclesandhelpdissuadefearsaboutafuturethatincludes

autonomousvehiclesonpublicroadways.28ThegoalofinsurerslikeAAAistocreate

transparencyaroundthestatusofautonomousvehicles,includingtheirbene?tsand

limitations,inordertocreateapathwayforsafeimplementation.

15

Tier1&2AutomotiveSuppliers

Tier1andTier229automotivesupplycompaniesareafewstepsbelowautomobile

manufacturersinthesupplychain.ATier1automotivesupplier,likeBosch,makes

productsexclusivelyfortheautomobileindustry:whenamanufacturerneedsapart

foracar,theyorderitfromaTier1supplier.30Tier2suppliersmanufactureproducts

forseveraldi?erentindustries,oneofwhichmightbetheautomotiveindustry.Tier1

manufacturerswillpurchasethepartstomaketheirproductsfromTier2suppliers.

Intheautonomousspace,newsuppliersarecrossingintotheautomotivesectorfrom

thebroadertechindustry.CompaniessuchasNVIDIA,Qualcomm,andEyesight

Technologiesaremovingintotheautonomousspacewithsolutionsthatimprovethe

safetyofself-drivingvehicles.313233

GovernmentOrganizations

FederalandLocalDepartmentsofTransportation(DOT)

TheFederalandLocalDepartmentsofTransportation(DOT)inAmericaarethe

mostimportantcomponentofensuringsafetyinautonomousvehicles.They’rethe

onlygroupthathavetheabilitytoreliablysetsafetystandardswithintheindustry,

makingthemcriticaltothefutureofself-drivingcars.

Whilegoverningbodieshavebeenslowtoactonself-drivingvehiclesinthepast,

theDOThasmadehugestridesinse

fewyears.TheFederalDOT’smostrecentoutlineforsafetyregulations,Preparing

fortheFutureofTransportation:AutomatedVehicles3.0,addressesmany

keypointsofsafetyinautonomousvehiclesbyde?ningterminology,remaining

technology-neutral,designingmoderninfrastructure,andcreatingatemplatefor

localDOTstodesigntheirownautonomousvehiclelegislation.34

FederalHighwayAdministration(FHWA)

TheFederalHighwayAdministration(FHWA)hascreatedaNationalDialogue

onHighwayAutomationinordertoexplorethesafetyoftruckplatooning,

discussquestionssurroundingautonomousvehicleoperationsonUShighways,

andstandardizehighwayinfrastructuretobesafeforautonomousvehicles,

amongothertopics.35TheFHWA’sobjectiveistofacilitatedatacollectionand

collaborationbetweenpublicagenciesandindustryleadersinordertocreatesafe

regulationsforautonomousvehiclesonroadways.TheFHWAhavealsobegun

sometestingprojects,suchastestingtra?ccontrolalgorithmsandroadside

equipmentthatcouldcommunicatewithautonomousvehicles.36

17

NationalHighwayTra?cSafetyAdministration(NHTSA)

TheNationalHighwayTra?cSafetyAdministration(NHTSA)supportstheremoval

ofregulatorybarriersthatwouldimpedetheadvancementofsafeautonomous

vehicles.Thisorganizationworkstoensureautonomousvehiclesundergorigorous

labtestingandsimulationspriortobeingtestedontracksthatmimicpublicroadway

conditions.TheNHTSAhasabrightoutlookonthefutureofautonomousvehicles,

butplanstoensurethesevehiclesarefullyroad-readybeforeallowingthemon

publicroads.37

NationalTravelandSafetyBoard(NTSB)

TheNationalTravelandSafetyBoard(NTSB)isanindependentU.S.government

agencythatinvestigatesaccidentsinciviltransportation.Assuch,theNTSBhas

investigatednearlyeveryautonomousvehicleaccidenttodate,determiningand

publicizingthecause.38

Thishastwoimportante?ectsontheautonomousindustry.First,itensuresthat

acertainlevelofaccountabilityismaintainedwithintheindustry,andsecond,it

ensuresthatthepublichasdirectinsightsintoaccidentsrelatedtoself-driving

vehicles.Asautonomousvehiclesbecomemoremainstream,it’spossiblethatthe

NTSBwillmovetoinvestigatingonlymajoraccidents,butfornow,it’sexpectedthat

everyautonomousvehicleaccidentwillleadtoanNTSBinvestigation.

FederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC)

TheFCC,orFederalCommunicationsCommission,isoneofthebe

agenciesinthegovernmentforitsroleinregulatingtechnology.39Speci?cally,

theFCCregulatesanytechnologyusedforcommunication,suchastheinternet,

radio,cable,andsatellite.TheFCCplaysaspeci?croleintheself-drivingindustry,

regulatingif,how,andwhenautonomousvehiclescancommunicatewithone

another.

It’snotclearexactlywhenthiscommunicationtechwillbewidelyimplemented,but

it’sclearthatcreatinganetworkinfrastructurethatself-drivingvehiclescanuseto

communicatewithoneanotherwillsigni?cantlyimprovesafetyande?ciencyin

theindustry.TheFCCisgoingtobeakeyplayerindecidingwhatthatinfrastructure

lookslike.Mostrecently,theycontributedtothisinfrastructurebyimplementing

C-V2X,whichpartitionedo?afrequencyofradiowavesforuseintheautonomous

vehiclesector.40

DepartmentofMotorVehicles(DMV)

ADMV,orDepartmentofMotorVehicles,isastate-leveldepartmentforregulating

transportation.Itperformstaskslikeregisteringvehiclesandprovidingdriving

licenses.Becausethesearestate-levelorganizations,theycurrentlyhavethe?nal

wordonwhetherornottheyallowautonomousvehiclesontheirroadsandtowhat

extent.

Forexample,theCaliforniaDMVpermitsfullyautonomousvehiclesonitsroads.41

AutonomousvehiclesarealsoallowedinArizona,whichiswhysomanyself-driving

carsusearouteconnectingCaliforniaandArizona.42InArizona,however,adriveris

notrequiredsolongastheautonomousvehiclemeetscertainrequirements.

FederalTradeCommission(FTC)

TheFTC,orFederalTradeCommission,isagovernmentagencyresponsiblefor

protectingconsumerrightsandcompetitioninthemarketplace.43Intheautonomous

sector,asidefromimplementingantitrustmeasures,theagency’sprimaryconcernis

protectingconsumerdata.

Autonomousvehicleshavetheabilitytocollectandstorepersonaldataon

passengersand,onceself-drivingvehiclesbegincommunicatingwithoneanother,

they’llhavetheabilitytosharethatdatawithothervehicles.TheFTCiscurrently

discussingandimplementingregulationsonwhatdatacanbecollected,ifandhow

thatdatacanbestored,andifandhowthatdatacanbeshared.44TheFTCisalso

communicatingwithotherregulatoryagencies,liketheFCCandNTSB,toensure

thattheseconcernsarebeingaddressedbyalloftheresponsibleorganizations.

19

AdvocacyGroups

InsuranceInstituteforHighwaySafety(IIHS)

TheIIHS,orInsuranceInstituteforHighwaySafety,isanindependentorganization

thatwasfoundedinthelate1950sbythreemajorinsurancecompaniesofthattime.45

Thegoalofthegroupwastoimprovehighwaysafetystandardsbypushingforcertain

regulationsaswellaseducatingthepubliconroadwaysafety.

Theorganizationhasledtokeyimprovementsinroadwaysafetybyaddressing

factorssuchasseatbeltusage,teendrivers,andsubstanceabuseinthecontextof

driving.Today,theyarepushingforequallycriticalimprovementsintheautonomous

sector.Arguablytheinstitute’smostimportantworkinthisareatodatehasbeen

itsresearchandexposureofsafetyfailuresintheautonomousindustry.46TheIIHS

haspublishedseveralarticleshighlightingthedangersofself-drivingvehiclesand

thelackofsafetymeasuresagainstthesedangers.TheIIHSisalsopushingfor

strongerconsumereducationonautonomousvehicles,pointingoutthattheaverage

consumerdoesn’tknowthedi?erencebetweenLevel3or4automation.47

InternationalTelecommunicationsUnion(ITU)

TheITU,orInternationalTelecommunicationsUnion,isaUnitedNationsorganization

basedinGeneva,Switzerland.48Itfacilitatestheassignmentofelementslikeradio

wavefrequencies,satelliteorbits,andthedevelopmentoftheinternet.

Recently,theITUhasbeenworkingtoimprovethesafetyofautonomousvehicles

byestablishingtestsandresearchprogramsrelatedtothe?eld.Oneofthesetests,

FG-AI4AD,runsanautomateddrivingAIthroughaseriesofexercisesthatensure

theAImeetsorexceedsthecapabilitiesofahumanbehindthewheel.49Thetestisin

linewithestablishedinternationalguidelinesforroadsafetyandaimstomaintainan

internationalstandardduringthedeploymentofautonomousvehicles.

IntelligentTransportationSocietyofAmerica(ITSAmerica)

TheIntelligentTransportationSocietyofAmerica,orITSAmerica,isanindependent

organizationmadeupofbusinesses,agencies,andleadersfromaroundtheU.S.who

areinvolvedinthedevelopmentofautomatedvehicles.50

Thegroup’smissionrevolvesaroundimprovingthesafetyandenvironmentale?ects

oftheautomobileindustrybybringinga

highlightingtheissueswithprojectsthatcouldcauseharm.Forinstance,ITSAmerica

backedapetitionbyGeneralMotorsin2019toexemptthecompany’sself-driving

programfortwoyears,arguingthati