LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Wednesday signaled strong support for self-driving vehicles as it released new guidance from federal agencies at the annual CES tech conference.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao unveiled the administration’s latest principles for autonomous vehicles — dubbed 4.0, which she says unifies autonomous efforts across 38 U.S. departments and agencies. The proposal was first reported earlier Wednesday by Reuters.
“The takeaway from AV 4.0 is that the federal government is all in — for safer, better and more inclusive transportation, aided by automated driving systems,” Chao said.
The administration did not endorse new regulatory rules to ensure that automated vehicles are safe. Chao told Reuters in a recent interview that in contrast the Obama administration’s approach was “very prescriptive... and in many ways it hampered innovation.”
White House technology adviser Michael Kratsios said the principles will “help foster an environment for innovators to advance safe AV technologies.”
The 51-page 4.0 policy document released Wednesday says the U.S. government will adopt and promote “flexible, technology-neutral policies that will allow the public, not the federal government or foreign governments, to choose the most economically efficient and effective transportation and mobility solutions.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the March 2018 death of a pedestrian in a crash with an Uber Technologies Inc test vehicle, the first-ever attributed to a self-driving car. The NTSB faulted the distracted back-up who failed to intervene when the vehicle did not properly identify the pedestrian and Uber’s safety culture.
The NTSB said in November U.S. regulators should
