Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is among the nine companies participating in a U.S. Department of Transportation initiative created for improving the safety and testing transparency of self-driving cars, and Michigan is among eight states also joining the effort.
But safety advocates significantly criticized the transportation department for sticking with a voluntary approach to self-driving regulation that critics have referred to as toothless, due to fatal accidents involving partially autonomous cars that have been operated in the recent times by companies such as Tesla, Uber, and others.
The agency declared on Monday that the formation of a new Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) Initiative that it stated will include “a series of public events across the country to improve transparency and safety in the development and testing of automated driving systems”.
The voluntary initiative will offer an online platform for sharing information about testing with the public.
“This will help improve safety and transparency for the on-road testing of automated automobiles,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stated in a virtual launch event that occurred on Monday.
When it comes to joining the federal self-driving car initiative, FCA is joined by Cruise, Navya, Nuro, Toyota, Uber, Waymo, Beep, and Local Motors. Michigan is joined by California, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah.
In a statement, a representative stated the company’s autonomous vehicle strategy consists of participation in industry-wide initiatives such as the new federal initiative to address a changing market.
The Michigan Department of Transportation has not responded to a request for comment.
“The Department of Transportation in concert with NHTSA has once again chosen to show where its true allegiance lies: corporate interests,” said Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a non-profit organization that advocates for vehicle safety and fuel economy.
Levine stated the DOT announced Monday that it will graciously accept whatever table scraps of details about AV testing some, but not all, auto and tech industry parties choose to throw to the federal government.
“Data will be gathered in some states – but not others,” he said. “Which data will be submitted, or not submitted, will ultimately be decided by Boards of Directors, not the federal government. And when a company’s car kills again, whether or not that company chooses to keep sharing information is more likely to be dictated by checking with corporate public relations teams than consulting the Code of Federal Regulations.”
Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said that instead of the U.S. Department of Transportation keep issuing voluntary, unenforceable agreements to the peril of all road users, it should satisfy its responsibility to make roads safe and develop minimum performance standards.
The Trump administration has argued the federal government does not have a mechanism to make automakers submit safety assessments before they put self-driving vehicles on the road. They argue that automakers should feel compelled by public opinion polls that indicate drivers are hesitant to embrace self-driving cars.
The Trump administration has issued self-driving guidelines that called for automakers and technology companies to voluntarily report on their handling of 12 safety elements that federal regulators state should be involved in all self-driving car testing. The recommendations were originally created by the Obama administration, and they have been updated by the Trump administration about three times since 2017.