2015-11-27

2015-11-27

November 26, 2015

Inside Faraday Future, the secretive car company chasing Tesla

T. Warren Nov. 19 “…This is the headquarters of Faraday Future, a young, seemingly well-funded company with an odd name that hasn’t said much about what it’s working on. We know that electric cars are involved, and we know that they’re probably years away from production. In the year and a half since Faraday’s founding, it has transformed this facility into a bustling corporate campus, stacked with a who’s-who list of poaches from some of California’s most prominent tech companies.

Faraday’s cars will be electric, and Sampson suggested that they will be autonomous. More pointedly, he focused on the potential for new ownership models that Faraday is considering. “Uber, for instance, is a new way of traveling, a new way of getting about. Some people are considering not even having a car. The cars of the future have got to meet those needs,” he says. Sampson imagines various custom vehicles that are designed for specific purposes such as a family trip, the work commute, or Home Depot runs. “I don’t have to buy one compromise vehicle, I can just have use of the perfect model when I need it, like a subscription service. We now subscribe to music; we used to buy music.”…” Read more Hmm… Very interesting, especially the video interview. Faraday may be real and have legs. See also Green Car Congress and StreetInsider.com Alain

US officials signal move toward embracing self-driving cars

J. Prichard, Nov. 24 “Federal transportation officials are rethinking their position on self-driving cars with an eye toward getting the emerging technology into the public’s hands…With the technology’s rapid development, that federal policy is being updated, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Tuesday.

“I want the posture of our agency to be obviously vigilant on the safety front, but I don’t want our agency to be skittish about innovations that are out there,” Foxx said…” Read more Hmmm… Although there isn’t much more, could it be that US DoT will finally realize that automation is the appropriate way to address their primary mission which is safety and to do it not only with cars, but with trucks and buses too. While they are at it, they should also take some interest in retrofit/aftermarket opportunities if they expect to reap substantial safety benefits earlier rather than later. Also, shouldn’t all of this be contained in the emergent re-authorization legislation???? Alain

Technology that could curb truck deaths is mired in DC bureaucracy

J. Edwards, Nov 24, “…earlier this month, the powerful House Rules Committee refused to consider an amendment to a $325 billion transportation policy bill. The measure proposed by Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, would have required the technology on commercial motor vehicles after three years….”The rules committee decided in its abundant wisdom that it was not in order,” Johnson said. “They don’t have to give a reason.”…Rep. Johnson said the months of carnage on the expressway between Macon and Savannah prompted him to question why tractor-trailers shouldn’t have the same technology already in cars….”Nothing moves quickly in Washington,…(except to preserve the legacy of “connected cars” and “truck platoons”) Read more Hmmm… Right on! Even though many of the comments deserve to be in C’Mon Man! See Bendix video1 and video2. Alain

City Planning Needed as 6 out of 10 Global Consumers Expect Driverless Revolution

P. Vanham, Nov 24 “The age of autonomous vehicles is fast approaching, and city leaders need to take steps to prepare as the disruptive technology becomes a reality, according to new survey results by the World Economic Forum released today…As part of a project the World Economic Forum also conducted interviews with over 20 city policy-makers and transport authorities from cities such as Dubai, Helsinki, New York, Amsterdam, Singapore and Toronto about their expectations for SDVs. The survey showed that most city authorities believe that applications like shared self-driving vehicles are coming very quickly and will have the potential to be the last-mile solution for public transport.

Nevertheless, most cities have yet to integrate SDV technology into their future mobility plans. “Many cities aren’t yet seeing how the programmes of today, such as car sharing and smart parking, might provide an essential backbone for shared self-driving vehicle programmes in the future,” said Alex Mitchell, Head of the Automotive Industry at the World Economic Forum….” Read more Hmmmm…. Let alone, autonomous Taxis (aTaxis) revolutionizing shared-ride mass transit. Be sure to look at the WEF Briefing on Self-Driving Vehicles (The “10 insights that surprised us” are very interesting; especially #6 (sharing aTaxi rides), for which the door is certainly left open as one would expect that sharing a ride would be done in conjunction with a high discount. Money is on the table). Alain

Interview: How Autonomous Vehicles will Transform Fuel Consumption

L. Hayward, Nov 25 “In an exclusive interview, Brad Templeton of Singularity University discusses the many ways that an autonomous vehicles will transform our lives, and the ways we consume energy. Templeton offers specific examples of how the sharing economy will enable greater efficiency and convenience in personal transportation” Watch Video Hmmm… Well worth watching. Alain

What happens when cities and states try to prepare for self-driving cars

M. McFarland, Nov 25 ““A technology tsunami.” That’s how Richard Biter, assistant secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, describes the arrival of autonomous vehicles.”We’re designing infrastructure today with life expectancies of 50, 80, even 100 years into the future,” Biter said. “Not just Florida but virtually every state needs to start taking into account what are the factors that we need to be aware of and what can we do in designing and building our infrastructure today that will be able to take full advantage of this technology.” …“Read more Hmmm… Yup! Alain

Euro NCAP Puts Autonomous Pedestrian Detection to the Test

Press Release, Nov 10 “European safety organisation Euro NCAP is introducing a new test that will check how well vehicles autonomously detect and prevent collisions with pedestrians. With new vehicles offering more autonomous driver assist systems, Euro NCAP’s Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Pedestrian tests will make it simpler for consumers and manufacturers to find out which systems work best. …Read more Hmmm… Please see their video Alain

How We Roll: Is America Ready for a Driverless Future?

G. Cherry, Nov 6 “…We’re fascinated by driverless vehicles – at least in theory. The most popular videos of Google’s driverless cars have scored tens of millions of views on YouTube. New studies and articles come out literally every day. And according to a recent University of Michigan study, a solid majority of Americans have at least some interest in owning or using a driverless car.”…”

…If a car company says ‘We’re so confident in our system that we’ll assume the liability for a crash,’ that’s a pretty powerful statement,” he says. “You’ve just solved the liability problem, you’ve put your money where your mouth is when it comes to safety and you’ve also laid out an attractive marketing proposition. That kind of thing could really change the game when it comes to consumer acceptance.” Read more Hmmm… Since Volvo has publicly announced that it “will assume the liability, the liability problem is solved as well as the safety problem, so all that stands in the way is Madison Avenue / Mad Men created nostalgia. Alain

Some other thoughts that deserve your

The clockspeed dilemma: What does it mean for automotive innovation

G. Silberg, Nov ‘15 “…The auto industry must reconcile these two different rates of change. It must act as if it were simultaneously in two worlds, moving at two different speeds. To do so is what successful innovation now means. It is inspiring. Innovation in the current auto space will transform the very nature of transportation and change people’s lives along the way….Personal miles will soar. Younger and older age groups are making small changes in their mobility decisions that will drive big changes in personal miles traveled… Read more Hmmm… PMT (Personal Miles Traveled) will increase, increasing Quality-of-Life (why else would one travel? As we all know, the only value of travel is to improve one’s place & time utility! We’ll just have to share rides, so that VMT (Vehicle…) will decrease, thus also saving the planet. Win-win! QED :-) Alain

Volvo Cars to develop next generation automotive technologies with Microsoft

Press Release, Nov 20 “Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, will work together with Microsoft, the leading platform and productivity company, to jointly develop next generation automotive technologies…Areas of future collaboration between the two companies could include autonomous driving technologies and the utilization of data generated from connected cars to create new services…” Read more Hmmm… Microsoft following Apple & Google into the Car business??? Interesting, See the imbedded video. (I didn’t include the HoloLens stuff because I’m way too traditional and conservative :-) ) Alain

Hyundai to develop fully autonomous cars by 2030

P. Igluder, Nov 19 “Hyundai Group will develop highly autonomous vehicle technology by 2020 and fully autonomous vehicle technology by 2030, Kwon Moon-sik, vice chairman for R&D at Hyundai and Kia, said during the second annual Heart Dream consumer event in Seoul on Tuesday.

With Hyundai Motor Group to elaborate in detail on its R&D budget for the technology, it earlier this year announced R&D investments of $9.75 billion over the next five years for future driverless car technology. Included in that amount is $2 billion on R&D to Kia Motors – the country’s second largest car maker and affiliate of Hyundai Motor’s sister company – over the next three years to develop the first of its new Advanced Driver Assistance system (ADAS) technologies and to recruit more engineers…. “ Read more Hmmm… $2B/yr in R&D; but how much for automation??? Alain

On the More Technical Side

Of note publications by K. Kockelman and co-authors:

DeepDriving: Learning Affordance for Direct Perception in Autonomous Driving C. Chen, A. Seff, A. Kornhauser and J. Xiao. DeepDriving: Learning Affordance for Direct Perception in Autonomous Driving Proceedings of 15th IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV2015)

Recompiled Old News & Smiles:

Rolls-Royce says it invented the driverless car – with a black tie

Oct 22 “Rolls-Royce has an answer that can only come from a luxury marque when asked if it will develop a driverless car. “I think we invented it,” said the company’s Asia Pacific regional director Paul Harris. “With a chauffeur.”…

“So the self-drive car, I’m not sure it’s really going to give you that option. For me, it seems to be an extension of almost buses really – they’re driving around in certain circles and you ask them to stop at point A, you jump on board and get on with people you don’t know and continue your journey.” Read more Hmmm… Seems like RR may have the clearest view of Self-Driving Cars; which is great for the rest of us. :-) Alain

The Good Wife Season 7, Episode 7 - “Driven”

C. McGuire, Nov 17 ““If the software learns, then it must not know what it needs to learn, right?”

An argument—and a very good one at that—could be made that The Good Wife, on a macro level, is just one big story about how life beats you down. That’s why when Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) utters the above line in a deposition about the perils of trusting a smart car, it echoes with irony…. Read more Hmmm.. See episode. Alain

People Are Going to Have a Lot of Sex in Driverless Cars

B. Guarino, Nov 24 “…Will the sex be legal?…” Hmmm…. I guess I don’t have to encourage you to Read more. Someone finally had to write about this topic. Please, I’m just the messenger here. Alain

Half-baked stuff that probably doesn’t deserve your time:

Laying the Groundwork for Smart, Connected Cities

Oct 21, 2015 “…U.S. DOT’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) has released a white paper that presents a vision of the smart/connected city and lays the groundwork for future research….”Read more Hmmm…. The white paper was obsolescent when it was written last year and is obsolete on its release today. Practical use of the connected data requires at least some up-front automated processing in order to make it “smart” (whatever that is). Alain

Self-Driving Cars: A Coming Congestion Disaster?

J. Walker “…This leads to a nightmare scenario that University of Washington’s Mark Hollenbeck laid out in our recent Seattle Times panel. Paraphrasing Mark: A suburban father rides his driverless car to work, maybe dropping his daughter off at school. But rather than park the car downtown, he simply tells it to drive back home to his house in the suburbs. During the day, it runs some other errands for his family. At 3 pm, it goes to the school to bring his daughter home or chauffeur her to after-school activities. Then it’s time for it to drive back into the city to pick up Dad from work. But then, on a lark, Dad decides to go shopping at a downtown department store after work, so he tells his car to just circle the block for an hour while he shops, before finally hailing it to go home …” Read more Hmmm… OK, one “less than stellar” scenario. A more plausible one is that the local mass transit company (or Uber, or ALKaTaxiCorp, or ???) purchases a fleet of these vehicles and manages them efficiently offering an on-demand ride-sharing level-of-service so that the suburban father now only owns a “55 Chevy” to tool around in on weekends while he and his family happily use the new “mass” transit to get to/from wherever. That’s Human Transit! Alain

C’mon Man! (These folks didn’t get/read the memo)

Calendar of Upcoming Events:

http://www.automatedfl.com/our-efforts/florida-automated-vehicles-summit/

Technix 2016 Envision Automated Transit (EAT) Saturday, January 9th, 2016

9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Kim Engineering Building, University of Maryland

8228 Paint Branch Dr., College Park, MD 20742

Open to the public

http://www.advancedtransit.org/library/news/technix-2016-envision-automated-transit-eat/

The Business of Autonomous Vehicles

March 22-23, 2016

Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Francisco Airport

http://driverlessmarket.com/

Recent Versions of:

November 15, 2015

Google Just Open Sourced TensorFlow, Its Artificial Intelligence Engine

C. Mertz, Nov 9, “…The app uses an increasingly powerful form of artificial intelligence called deep learning. By analyzing thousands of photos of gravestones, this AI technology can learn to identify a gravestone it has never seen before. The same goes for cats and dogs, trees and clouds, flowers and food….” Read more Hmmmm…

And we think it can identify the salient features of the driving environment to provide an elegant algorithm for autonomous driving. These tools will allow more of us to contribute to the development of SmartDrivingCars. Alain

October 31, 2015

Port Authority Unanimously Approves $10 Billion Plan to Replace Bus Terminal

A Siff, Oct 22 “The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has unanimously approved an estimated $10 billion plan to replace the existing 65-year-old bus terminal.

The plan approved Thursday includes an international design competition. The final design will be picked in September.” See Video

Hmmm… This is great, but since it will not be finished for 15 years, it better be designed with SmartDrivingBuses in mind. In fact, 20 years ago, Lou Pignataro and I envisioned that today’s longitudinal and lateral control systems could readily allow a 50% increase in the capacity (from a current max of 700 to 1,050 buses/hr) of the Counter-flow Exclusive Bus (XBL) lane/Lincoln Tunnel if only the PA Bus Terminal could accommodate the additional buses. This enable an additional 17,500 seated passengers per hour to commute from NJ to NYC, a volume that is essentially equivalent to what a new rail tunnel would provide. Hopefully, the PANY&NJ accommodate such a service improvement when they design and build this new bus terminal. Alain

October 23, 2015

Should Autopilot Cars Be Required To Pass Driving Tests?

J. Gorzelany Oct 22, “Every state in the union requires motorists to pass a battery of tests in order to be licensed, so why not self-driving vehicles? That’s a notion recently discussed in a white paper written by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute…” Read more Hmmmm… See the UofM white paper: Should We Require Licensing ….

Of course! The question is now, what should that test be? Should it simply be the same test as administered today, but with the car doing it as opposed to the human (that means the automated car is empty except the examiner riding shotgun barking out instructions) or is it a progressive exam coupled with a well defined set of conditions under which the automated functionalities are “engage-able” (For example: NJ Turnpike Southbound between mileposts X and Y, in lanes 2 and 3 of the “truck barrel” between sunrise and sunset, without heavy rain, sleet, snow or fog; etc.) or ??? as in the report. Alain

October 19, 2015

Self-Driving Cars Are Coming Right For Us

Stephen C. Oct 16 “… It seems like every billionaire with a tech company is working on a self-driving car, so they’re coming whether you like it or not…” See Video Hmmmm….

Well worth watching. As well as Video1, Video2, Video3, Video@night:-) Alain

October 08, 2015

US urged to establish nationwide Federal guidelines for autonomous driving

Oct 7 “The US risks losing its leading global position in the development of self-driving cars if it allows a patchwork of varying state laws and regulations to develop, according to Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.

In a speech to be delivered Thursday at a high level seminar on self-driving cars organized by Volvo Cars and the Embassy of Sweden in Washington DC, Mr Samuelsson will say…

He will urge regulators to work closely with car makers to solve controversial outstanding issues such as questions over legal liability in the event that a self-driving car is involved in a crash or hacked by a criminal third party.

Mr Samuelsson will clearly state Volvo’s position on both of these contentious issues.

He will say Volvo will accept full liability whenever one of its cars is in autonomous mode, making it one of the first car makers in the world to make such a promise.

He will add that Volvo regards the hacking of a car as a criminal offense. ….”Read more

Hmmmm… Fantastic!!! This will really “shake ‘em up”. I’ll be on a panel at this meeting later this morning. Can’t wait!!! This is FANTASTIC!!! Alain See also

October 02, 2015

“60 Minutes” test-rides Mercedes-Benz self-driving car

Oct 2 “As Google’s driverless cars have logged more than a million miles in the past six years, the rest of the auto industry is racing to keep up. Computer scientist Ralf Herrtwich hits the road with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker to demonstrate Mercedes-Benz’s most advanced self-driving prototype. Watch the full story Sunday on “60 Minutes.” Watch video and watch 60 minutes on Sunday Oct 4. This is really becoming mainstream. Congratulations Ralf! Alain

September 26, 2015

As Volkswagen Pushed to Be No. 1, Ambitions Fueled a Scandal

D. Hakim, Sept 26 “…It is not Volkswagen’s first run-in with regulators over emissions. When the United States began regulating tailpipe pollutants in the 1970s, Volkswagen was one of the first companies caught cheating. It was fined $120,000 in 1973 for installing what became known as a “defeat device,” technology to shut down a vehicle’s pollution control systems. This time, it equipped its vehicles with software that was programmed to fake test results, an action the E.P.A. rebuked in 1998, when it reached a $1 billion settlement with truck-engine manufacturers for doing the same thing…..

Cheating on emissions tests solved several issues at once. Not only were drivers rewarded with better mileage and performance, but the automaker also avoided more expensive and cumbersome pollution-control systems. While Volkswagen cheated behind the scenes, it publicly espoused virtue. This, after all, is the company that used one of the largest advertising arenas in the world, the Super Bowl, to run a commercial showing its engineers sprouting angel’s wings.

…Confronted again, Volkswagen continued to maintain that there was a problem with the testers, not the vehicles…Government officials then increased the pressure on the company, threatening to withhold approval for its 2016 Volkswagen and Audi diesel models. According to the E.P.A., that is what forced Volkswagen’s hand. On Sept. 3, a group of senior engineers admitted what the regulators had suspected: …. Read more Hmmm… So UGLY!!! Alain

September 14, 2015

Automakers Will Make Automatic Braking Systems Standard in New Cars

B. Vlasic, Sept 11 “ Federal regulators said on Friday that 10 automakers had agreed to install automatic braking systems, which use sensors to detect potential collisions, as standard equipment in new vehicles.

But the automakers have not set a timetable for the introduction of the systems, …Anthony Foxx, the transportation secretary, said in a prepared statement that emergency braking technology could reduce traffic deaths and injuries.

“We are entering a new era of vehicle safety, focusing on preventing crashes from ever occurring, rather than just protecting occupants when crashes happen,” Mr. Foxx said….

The 10 companies “will work with I.I.H.S. and N.H.T.S.A. in the coming months on the details of implementing their historic commitment,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement (Same as the DoT Statement.) Read more Hmmm… This is major because the automakers “had agreed…” rather than “the regulators had required…” (although there seems to be a little push-back in that “…had not set a timetable…” We do know that many are now offering these systems at a modest up-sell. So there may actually be substance in the announcement.) What is clear now is that we should all Invest in insurance companies that are creative in insuring these new vehicles!!! They are going to become so profitable! Insurance gets the cash benefit of the technology without having to pay for it!!! Wow!!! Congratulations Warren Buffett. He must have played a role in this. He stands to benefit so much. :-) While trucks are mentioned, (amazing that buses aren’t; DoT is SO BAD!!), they seem very much the stepchild. SO unfortunate! :-( Alain

August 28, 2015

Truck Safety Out of the Box from Autonobox

B Simpson, July 19, 2015 “The premise is promising. Develop and market a plug-and-play, forward-avoidance braking system for the heavy vehicle market that can be installed quickly, upgraded regularly, and even transferred from vehicle to vehicle if necessary.

The Autonobox System essentially is a second braking system for heavy-duty vehicles that addresses the long-standing problem of brakes that overheat after intense use like a panic-stop or sustained use while going downhill…. Read more Hmmm… A viable after-market retro-fit opportunity. Alain

August 10, 2015

Self-Driving Cars Could Destroy Fine-Based City Government. What’s the Downside?

S. Shackford, July 15 “One of the propelling concepts behind self-driving cars isn’t just innovation for the sake of innovation, leading us to our sci-fi Jetsons future. If successfully implemented, it will make ground travel safer, …Local governments have become increasingly dependent on human screw-ups as a way to raise money. Speeding tickets. DUI citations. Parking violations. Those are all big money-makers for municipalities that could very well go away under a regime of self-driving cars….On top of that, if the theory that self-driving cars will lead people to own fewer cars holds up, revenue from registration fees will drop as well…. Read more Hmmm… No downside here! These have to be one of the most regressive tax systems, just behind lotteries and gambling. Governments deserve it, but will save because they will need way fewer police who now waste way too much of their time enforcing traffic laws. Police have much better things to do. Wins all around; No Downside! Alain

July 31, 2015

Lipinski Continues Efforts to Keep Cars and Other Transportation Safe from Cyber Attacks in Wake of Fiat Chrysler Recall

July 28 “…These vulnerabilities pose great risks and the federal government must do more to help protect Americans from these risks.”

Late last year, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, originally introduced by Congressmen Lipinski, was signed into law. The Act increases the security of federal networks and information systems, improves the transfer of cybersecurity technologies to the marketplace, trains a cybersecurity workforce, and coordinates and prioritizes federal cybersecurity research and development efforts. Read more Hmmm… Besides protecting we must also prosecute. There has to be bad consequences and not notoriety to those that do the nasty deed. Alain

July 27, 2015

Center for Automated Road Transportation Safety @ Fort Monmouth is Launched

Monday, July 20, 2015 – “After more than three (3) years of planning and several major meetings the substantive launch the Center for Automated Road Transportation Safety @ Fort Monmouth (CARTS@FM) occurred this week with the establishment of the not-for-profit. (501(c)(6)), New Jersey Corporation. The mission of this Center is to substantially improve safety on our existing conventional roadway infrastructure through the use of inexpensive automated collision avoidance systems installed on individual vehicles operating harmoniously with conventional vehicles throughout most, if not all, existing roadways. The scope of CARTS’s mission is across all modes that utilize the nation’s conventional road system: trucks, buses and cars. ..” Read more

July 3, 2015

Rep. Lipinski Introduces Future Transportation Research and Innovation Act

I. Sancken 03/29/15, “Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) has introduced H.R. 2886, the Future Transportation Research and Innovation for Prosperity (TRIP) Act, to support innovative technologies that have the potential to fundamentally alter mobility in America and beyond.

“Surface transportation used to be rather staid and unimaginative, but today the very concept of ‘mobility’ is being reinvented through research, innovation, and entrepreneurship,” said Rep. Lipinski. “Rapidly advancing automation, connectivity, and information technologies are creating incredible opportunities for transportation innovation. We need to develop innovative ways to improve safety, ease congestion, improve personal mobility, and cut energy use…” Read more Hmmm… Excellent! Alain

June 10, 2015

NTSB Calls for Immediate Action on Collision Avoidance Systems for Vehicles; Cites Slow Progress as Major Safety Issue

6/8/15 “WASHINGTON – In a report released today, the National Transportation Safety Board outlined the life-saving benefits of currently available collision avoidance systems, and recommended that the technology become standard on all new passenger and commercial vehicles.

“You don’t pay extra for your seatbelt,” said Chairman Christopher A. Hart. “And you shouldn’t have to pay extra for technology that can help prevent a collision altogether.”… Read more Hmmm Yea!!! Finally some semblance of sanity in Washington. Alain

May 29, 2015

John F. Nash Jr., Math Genius Defined by a ‘Beautiful Mind,’ Dies at 86

E. Goodmay, May 24 “…Dr. Nash and his wife, Alicia, 82, were in a taxi on the New Jersey Turnpike in Monroe Township around 4:30 p.m. when the driver lost control while veering from the left lane to the right and hit a guardrail and another car, Sgt. Gregory Williams of the New Jersey State Police said.

The couple were ejected from the cab and pronounced dead at the scene. The State Police said it appeared that they had not been wearing seatbelts…. Read more

See also: John, Alicia Nash Remembered After Fatal Crash

A Beautiful Mind Mathematician John Nash and His Wife Killed in N.J. Car Crash ;

Hmmm…

So tragic!!! What a crying shame!!! So preventable!!! We will miss them :-(

Unfortunately, the NYT and others tried but missed the fundamental point by following up with “Deaths of Math Genius John F. Nash Jr. and Wife Show Need to Use Seatbelts in Back, Experts Say. Why do we so easily put up with crashes in the first place? It is as if it is OK to go around crashing, just put on a seat belt. Technology is available to avoid crashes, but there isn’t sufficient public policy focus on avoiding crashes to accelerate its adoption and enhancement.

The fundamental problem was that the taxi was not equipped with available automated stability control, lane keeping and collision avoidance systems. This was not an accident, it was a failed public safety policy that refuses to move beyond crash mitigation and its challenged “V2x” initiatives to embrace forthright automated crash avoidance.

Moreover, there is a failed Taxi regulatory structure that doesn’t even hint that taxis should have electronic stability control, automated lane keeping and collision avoidance. What is the purpose of taxi regulation, to keep “Ubers” out of business?

It is time for the nation’s transportation policy to focus intelligence/automation on the vehicle in support of the driver. Hopefully Congress will restructure the pending transportation legislation to focus automated vehicle technologies that actively assist drivers when they make driving mistakes. We are not perfect. We deserve a public safety policy that is more mindful of our imperfections. Policy that isn’t aimed at just warning and scolding us but actively takes over and does the right thing. We, not the infrastructure, are the cause of most of the highway carnage. It is the driver who needs help and our public policy should focus on delivering that help. Alain Unsubscribe | Re-subscribe