Saturday, January 7, 2017
Las Vegas, Nevada
Thank you Paul for that kind introduction. And thank you for inviting me here to recognize you for spending your Saturday doing important work that has the opportunity to transform the way Americans get where they want to go.
I never get tired of talking transportation. It has been my life’s work for more years than I want to remember. But beyond than that, it is so vital to everything that makes America great.
From our very own Henry Ford and his life-changing Model T, to the nostalgia of Route 66 and the transformation that came from President Dwight Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System, to the innovations that many of you are bringing to the table this weekend – transportation is exciting… it is fun… it is truly what America is all about.
As Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush, and before that, Federal Highway Administrator, I have seen it all – new roads, new bridges, historic routes, airports, control towers, shipping lanes and light rail trains.
But what I enjoy more and more with each passing year is the innovation that is coming to our industry. First, it was cameras that allowed us to see traffic in real time. Then came ramp meters. They were all the rage. And who could forget the first time we changed a traffic light using a camera mounted on the mast arm?
Today, we look back and chuckle a little because we have come so far. Take the Consumer Electronics Show for example. Did you know the VCR was unveiled here in 1970? The CD player and the camcorder both were introduced in 1981. The first Nintendo game system hit the scene in 1984. DVD’s debuted in 1996, HD television in 1998, satellite radio in the year 2000, and tablets and notebooks in 2010.
So what about this year? Why is this show… already famous for breaking the news of the latest personal electronics gadgets… now often referred to as the Las Vegas Car Show? Because technology is in our cars and more is coming our way.
That’s why your work this morning was so vital and why we appreciate the time you spent to contribute to ATI’s national policy framework.
Cars that drive themselves, and systems that make them safe, are being conceived, invented, tested and refined at speeds that would make our heads spin – yet the rules that govern the tech intended to make our lives better, our drive safer, and our trips quicker… are stuck in time.
Innovations at this show are leading the way, giving us a preview of what will be, but the truth is without some innovation in the regulatory space, the Consumer Electronics Show, and perhaps a few university parking lots, will be the only way to see, experience and benefit from the work being shared here in Las Vegas this weekend. We need to shake things up.
I spent my time at the U.S. Department of Transportation working to do just that. You might remember the trouble I caused when as Secretary I voided old congressional earmarks, funding that was on hold for years because recipients didn’t want the projects Congress ordered, and took the money to encourage creative projects meant to reduce traffic congestion. It didn’t go over well. I took a lot of angry phone calls from the Hill.
Now that isn’t as groundbreaking of an idea as a car that needs no driver, but to the policy wonks in D.C. it might as well have been an autonomous vehicle! They were none too pleased with me.
The point is and has been for a long time – Washington D.C. needs a new perspective – in this case, it needs a fresh approach to the rulemaking process. Regulators need to re-think the way they govern. And technology needs to lead the process, not be frustrated by it.
The self-driving technology at this show is no good to us if it can’t get off the convention floor and into our lives.
So how might the rules be changed to make autonomous vehicles possible in our lifetimes?
As an example, the Federal Transit Administration could decide to fund autonomous buses that could be used to service neighborhood routes or last-mile commuter connections. Today, the agency funds light rail fixed route systems and good old fashioned city buses. Imagine the impact such a decision would have on innovators? Some of you are in this room. You know what I am talking about.
I also know Paul Brubaker has lots of ideas for regulatory reform across the Department of Transportation’s modal administrations. I say let’s hear them and let’s make them happen.
We certainly need Washington to get with the program because states are starting to fill the vacuum and not always in good ways. The dispute between Uber and the California Motor Vehicle Division over its self-driving taxi testing program in San Francisco led the company to pull up stakes and re-locate to Arizona!
All of this of course happens as the Mayor of Sacramento declares his city wants to be an automated vehicle proving ground. There seems to be a short-circuit somewhere in the wiring between the state capitol and city hall!
Then there is Michigan, a state on the right track as lawmakers there just passed the most permissive self-driving car laws in the United States. The trouble is, Michigan is one state, so unless you don’t ever plan on driving south to Chicago in your driverless-car, you may need to keep the steering wheel just in case – otherwise it could be rough once you hit the Illinois state line.
Clearly, we need one set of rules, not 50, and they need to favor technology, not frown upon it.
The reason we get for the slow nature of the process is a focus on safety. Indeed, I preached that gospel as well when I was the Secretary.
But holding back technology until we are absolutely sure everything is 110 percent safe isn’t going to reduce traffic fatalities. It is going to encourage them. That’s because while we wait years for regulators to catch up to innovators, tens of thousands of Americans will continue to die in their cars, the victims of human-caused traffic crashes.
Even NHTSA – the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – admits that 94 percent of traffic crashes involve human error. Now will computers make mistakes? It’s possible. But will they make mistakes 94 percent of the time? Highly unlikely. Lives will be saved.
Which brings us back to the importance of the policy framework imagined and brought to life by Paul and his team at the Alliance for Transportation Innovation – and enhanced further by your work here today.
NHTSA is one of about two dozen federal agencies and departments that have a role in the future of self-driving cars. And from my experience in Washington, I can tell you there is no way those agencies will be able to work together on their own.
That’s why, for me, the recommendation that President-elect Trump elevate this issue to a White House priority is key. The President is the only one who can make the agencies work together. He is the only one who will be able to force cooperation and enforce deadlines. Some agencies may be willing players on their own, but others will no doubt get caught up in territorial squabbles that will delay progress for the American people. The President must get involved and direct this process.
Beyond that, the recommendations and your contributions to them are vital if we are to make sense of the current policy quagmire that will only slow the deployment of self-driving cars even longer. Obviously, we don’t have time to wait.
Autonomous technology is here and people want it. They are nervous, but that will pass in the same way public fear of the Model T eventually gave way to widespread acceptance of automobiles, making travel by horseback a novelty rather than a necessity.
If government can get out of the way, the bright minds assembled in this room, and those showing their wares at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, will deliver systems that are safe, reliable and efficient.
But most of all, they will deliver an entirely new driving, or should I say, riding experience, that will change the lives of the enabled and disabled, restore freedom of mobility to senior citizens, and save countless lives of people from coast to coast – forever.
Certainly driving is a part of life and has been so for generations. Letting go of the wheel will take some getting used to, but it is necessary and good. Why? Because as the famous author and columnist Dave Barry said: “Deep down inside, we all believe we are above-average drivers.” He is right and all of us are wrong. We need self-driving cars now. Our lives depend on it.
Thank you for your work today and the invitation to join you for lunch. I truly have enjoyed this opportunity to share my thoughts with you and I hope you intensify your efforts to make the self-driving future a reality as soon as possible.
