Nine companies and eight states have signed on as the first participants in the Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) Initiative, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) new initiative to improve the safety and testing transparency of automated driving systems.
The participating companies are Beep, Cruise, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Local Motors, Navya, Nuro, Toyota, Uber and Waymo. The states include California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.
“Through this initiative, the department is creating a formal platform for federal, state and local government to coordinate and share information in a standard way,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
The AV TEST Initiative will include a series of public events across the country to improve transparency and safety in the development and testing of automated driving systems.
Participants can share information about their activities, which will help increase the public’s awareness of testing, centralize USDOT’s role in promoting safety and innovation and build stronger relationships among federal, state and local governments and stakeholders.
Additionally, this voluntary initiative will provide an online, public-facing platform for sharing automated driving systems testing activities and other safety-related information with the public. Online mapping tools may show testing locations at the local, state and national levels, as well as testing activity data, which may include dates, frequency, vehicle counts and routes.
“Automated driving system technologies hold the promise to help prevent fatal crashes, save lives and reduce the severity of the crashes that do occur. Under the leadership of Secretary Chao, NHTSA is committed to facilitating the safe testing, development and eventual deployment of advanced vehicle safety technologies through enhanced transparency and information sharing with all our State and local partners,” said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Deputy Administrator James Owens.
The AV TEST Initiative will be open to all stakeholders involved in the safe development and testing of automated driving system vehicles. At the state and local level, participants may include departments of motor vehicles, departments of transportation, highway safety offices and city governments. At the automotive industry level, participants may include developers, manufacturers, suppliers, operators and testers.
This initiative aligns with the USDOT’s leadership on automated driving system vehicles, including AV 4.0: Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies.
"We are pleased to participate in the AV TEST Initiative and applaud the USDOT and NHTSA on an initiative meant to create the needed transparency for safe deployment and operation of autonomous technology across the country," said Joe Moye, CEO at Beep. "Beep has been engaged with NHTSA as part of their AV test program where we, as an autonomous service supplier, share regular information on how these shuttles operate and respond in various, live scenarios interacting with pedestrians, bicyclists and mixed traffic. This initiative will allow us and others in the AV industry to advance our collective learnings with the goal of improving public visibility and awareness of our results while building meaningful relationships among other participants and stakeholders to enhance safety for everyone."
