GHSA Policy on Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Technology

Excerpted from GHSA Policies & Priorities

GHSA supports the development and deployment of intelligent transportation systems, connected vehicle technology, driver assistance features, and automated driving to improve road safety, mobility, and convenience. GHSA urges law enforcement and other first responder agencies to train personnel for the new technologies appearing on the roadway.

GHSA urges federal and state government leadership to continue conducting research, organizing demonstration programs, and providing pilot funding for connected vehicle and ITS projects, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-everything (V2X) communications.

GHSA supports the expedited deployment of ADAS and crash avoidance systems for their life-saving benefit to the human-operated driving environment. GHSA urges research to document the effectiveness of these features. . The safety community should collaborate on solutions to address the driver behavioral risks posed by ADAS systems where driving responsibility is shared by the vehicle and driver. GHSA recommends that the safety community undertake efforts to educate consumers on the benefits and safe use of this technology and the prevention of misuse and abuse.

GHSA supports a federal mandate to require V2V communication on light vehicles to expedite the deployment of ADAS and crash avoidance features across the passenger fleet. The federal government should guarantee the integrity of the 5.9 GHz band of the wireless spectrum for use of vehicle safety-related dedicated short range communication (DSRC) unless the band can be safely shared for other purposes.

GHSA supports a national framework for AV policy that adapts current federal, state, and local roles in transportation for the automated context. The federal government should set and enforce Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, investigate and manage recalls, regulate interstate commercial vehicle operations, and collaborate with states and communities to develop and implement safety programs. State responsibilities include licensing drivers, registering vehicles, enacting and enforcing traffic rules, investigating crashes, aggregating crash data, and regulating insurance and liability. All levels of government should aim for substantive national harmonization of AV laws and regulations.

GHSA calls for additional research on the intersection of AVs and traffic safety. The safety community should collaborate on solutions to address the driver behavioral risks posed by AV systems where driving responsibility is shared by the vehicle and driver, as well as risks that emerge from a mix of autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles and road users in traffic.