FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2019
CONTACT: Madison Forker, 202-580-7930
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Amidst growing public questions and concerns about current and future automated vehicle (AV) technology, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is pleased to announce that it has joined Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE).
This new partnership with PAVE members, including the National Safety Council, AAA, automakers, technology companies and other key safety leaders, will help leverage State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) to bring realistic, factual safety information about AVs to policymakers, the media and the traveling public.
“We need to work together to raise public awareness of what AV technology can and can’t do,” said Jonathan Adkins, GHSA Executive Director. “New technologies can help us on the road to zero deaths, but only if everyone understands, trusts and wants to safely use these features.”
A growing body of evidence suggests that the public has limited knowledge of AV technology and what the operator’s responsibilities should be, and many motorists report that they don’t want to use automated features. This lack of understanding and enthusiasm is in part because of the many mixed, confusing or inaccurate messages about automation.
“Seeing is believing,” said Adkins. “GHSA is encouraged that PAVE is sponsoring hands-on workshops for the public to personally experience and learn about the safe use of AVs, and the states, through GHSA, will be able to potentially bring these workshops to wider audiences.”
On May 8, 2019, GHSA and State Farm® assembled an interdisciplinary expert panel for a meeting in the Washington, D.C. area to develop ideas for how to deliver safety messages to the public and how to prepare the criminal justice community as AVs take the road. GHSA will release a white paper summarizing the expert panel outcomes later this summer and discuss the paper at its 2019 Annual Meeting, August 26-28 in Anaheim, California, which will also feature speakers from Uber, Waymo, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and other leading voices on AV safety.
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About GHSA
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy, enhance program management and promote best practices. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans. Contact GHSA at 202-789-0942 or visit www.ghsa.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GHSAhq or follow us on Twitter @GHSAHQ.
About PAVE
Partners for Automated Vehicle Education is a coalition of industry, nonprofit and academic institutions with one goal: To inform and educate the public and policymakers on the facts regarding automated vehicles so that they can fully participate in shaping the future of our roads and highways. PAVE’s members, led by co-chairs Audi of America and the National Safety Council, believe that the public needs factual information about AV technology in order to fully realize the potential benefits the technology can offer to increased safety, mobility and sustainability. Launched in January 2019, PAVE’s activities include hands-on public demonstration events, policymaker workshops, developing educational materials for dealer and customer-service personnel and active online and social media channels. For more on PAVE: Visit PAVE’s website (pavecampaign.org), Facebook page (@PAVEcampaign), Twitter handle (@PAVEcampaign), and Instagram account (@PAVEcampaign).