Governor Wolf and PennDOT Secretary Richards Welcome New Federal Automated Vehicle Guidelines, Focus on Safety

Governor Wolf and PennDOT Secretary Richards Welcome New Federal Automated
Vehicle Guidelines, Focus on Safety

9/20/2016-HARRISBURG

Governor Tom Wolf today applauded the focus on safety in new federal
guidelines
on automated vehicles that were released this morning. The guidelines are
in-line with work underway since June by the Pennsylvania Autonomous
Vehicle
Policy Task Force.

"Both we and the federal government agree that safety is paramount as we
set
policies that encourage and guide the dramatic mobility changes offered by
the
rapidly developing automated vehicle technology," Governor Wolf said. "My
administration has kept Pennsylvania on a pace that makes us and especially
the
City of Pittsburgh a global center for automated vehicle safety, testing
and
development."

The National Highway Safety Administration today released its 112-page
"Federal
Automated Vehicles Policy – Accelerating the Next Revolution in Roadway
Safety."

"We are encouraged the new federal guidance parallels the focus of our
Autonomous Vehicle Policy Task Force," said PennDOT Secretary Leslie S.
Richards. "We want to assure that technology companies and auto
manufacturers
have the ability to test the technology in Pennsylvania, but we will not
compromise safety, and we are working toward state-level policies to ensure

that is the case."

The task force, made up of representatives from federal, state and local
government, law enforcement, technology companies, higher education,
manufacturers, motorists and trucking groups, and academic research
institutions, is working toward delivering policy recommendations to
Secretary
Richards this fall. At the same time, the General Assembly is working on
legislation that would allow PennDOT to implement the policies governing
automated vehicle testing.

Richards said the task force will now work to align the federal guidance
with
pending policy recommendations. She noted that the federal guidance does
not
impact testing now underway in Pittsburgh by Carnegie Mellon University and

Uber, which is permitted under Pennsylvania law. The pending legislation
and
policies must be in place before testing can proceed to more advanced
levels.

Last year, 1,200 persons lost their lives in traffic crashes in
Pennsylvania
and one of the potential areas where autonomous vehicles could be benefit
is a
reduction in those tragic statistics. Various studies and research have
pointed
to automated and connected vehicles as having environmental and travel
benefits
in addition to reducing human error in driving. Vehicle functions such as
maintaining more consistent speeds, communicating with infrastructure or
other
vehicles, and allowing highway officials to eventually to invest less in
engineering solutions related to human behavior (such as rumble strips) are

examples of other potential benefits of expanding these technologies.

The task force and legislation build on current and past studies, work
groups
and coalitions in which PennDOT has participated. The department currently
has
representatives on the American Association of Motor Vehicle
Administrators'
Automated Vehicles Best Practices work group; the American Association of
State
Highway Transportation Officials Connected and Automated Vehicle Technical
Working Group; the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Deployment Coalition; the
Connected Vehicle Pooled Fund Study; and the Transportation Research
Board's
Technical Activities Council on Vehicle Automation.


Media contact:
Rich Kirkpatrick, PennDOT, 717-783-8800
Alexis Campbell, PennDOT 717-787-0485
Governor's Press Office, 717-783-1116

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