In A Letter to Department of Transportation, Senators Highlight How Autonomous Vehicles Have Potential to Bolster Jobs & Save Lives
Senators Press Department of Transportation to Engage on New Mobility Technologies
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and nine other Senate colleagues in a letter urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a comprehensive federal framework for autonomous vehicles. The Senators highlighted how autonomous vehicles have the potential to create good-paying American jobs, save lives, and ensure the United States will continue leading in the future of mobility.
Nevada was the first state to authorize the operation of autonomous vehicles in 2011 and has remained a leader in the space, helping to advance the technology while creating jobs and boosting the state economy. Last year, Las Vegas was selected as the first city for a fully driverless taxi service.
“Autonomous vehicles hold great promise to deliver significant benefits for all Americans—but only if the federal government puts the necessary policies in place to achieve these benefits,” wrote the Senators. “The federal government has the opportunity and responsibility to foster a domestic autonomous vehicle industry that is as safe as it is innovative, and that provides high-quality jobs across the economy, including in transportation”
“As we look to the century ahead, the pace of innovation will only continue to accelerate, with significant implications for mobility, workers, the economy and society at large…Yet, we lag behind in shaping a regulatory framework that will foster this innovation while simultaneously protecting and encouraging all of the important benefits we believe autonomous vehicles are capable of delivering,” the Senators continued. “Our competitors on the global stage—particularly the Chinese government—have significantly invested in autonomous and connected vehicle technologies. That’s why securing the benefits associated with autonomous vehicles while lifting up our communities and workers will require a nuanced—and proactive—approach to policymaking…But that is all the more reason why the federal government must engage on these issues now.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
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