Humans Should Drive Our Transit Future, Not Autonomous Vehicles
Humans should drive our transit future, not autonomous vehicles
Human operators are required for all passenger transport vehicles, regardless of whether they are fully automated or not. This is similar to the requirement for pilots in command of fully automated airplanes. With the rapid and unregulated expansion of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, Congress has a unique opportunity to reinforce this safety criterion as it contemplates an appropriate legislative response to the rapid and unregulated proliferation of AV technologies.
Every day, frontline employees in public transportation networks across the country ensure the safe operation of buses, trains, and vans. They respond to emergencies, ensure the accessibility of disabled and elderly passengers, and ensure the safety of passengers during a lethal outbreak of a disease. These staff are trained to perform these tasks simultaneously while driving passenger vehicles.
Although some in the technology industry claim that "completely" autonomous vehicles can function without a human operator, no amount of automation will ever be able to completely replace humans in their jobs. A dangerous premise that both Congress and the Biden administration must discard, as soon as possible.
Transportation experts are committed to remaining on the cutting edge of new transportation technology as they are developed and implemented. For us, innovation is a way of life, and we've played a key role in bringing decades' worth of next-generation vehicles and technologies to market over the years. It is not innovation that we are experiencing today; rather, it is the widespread usage of autonomous vehicles on our roads that have not been thoroughly tested and that have not been effectively regulated.
Neither the technology nor the business interests that are causing this rush of automobiles into cities are subjected to the strictest safety standards nor are they subjected to the most stringent federal oversight and enforcement. This has to be changed immediately.
The AV industry's business tactics are focused toward achieving a single goal: increasing sales and profits while avoiding the scrutiny of federal regulators or complying with essential safety data disclosure requirements. These corporations are avoiding an open discussion about whether their AV technologies are safe, whether they are harming transit riders or the public interest, whether they are achieving critical equity objectives, or whether they are eliminating good, union jobs as a result of their AV technologies. They have the responsibility of displaying their worth to others.
Nonetheless, we must engage in that discussion and enact stringent regulations before our government enables their broad usage on our streets and in our public transportation systems to be approved.
Monitor Rather Than Operator
Several businesses now refer to the drivers they aim to phase out as "monitors" rather than "operators" in their anti-virus trial programs, which is a change from previous practice. This is a slap in the face to the workers, as well as a deliberate lie on the part of the passengers. They are not monitors, but rather experts responsible with guaranteeing the safety of the passengers on board the aircraft. In business situations, a highly automated vehicle should never be allowed to operate without the presence of a qualified onboard operator, just as we would never allow autopilot systems on commercial airplanes flying at 30,000 feet to operate without the presence of a pilot in the cockpit on a commercial flight. Any piece of new autonomous vehicle legislation passed by Congress must mandate the presence of a human operator onboard every passenger transportation operation.
Additional legislation must provide precise timetables for the federal government in order to regulate how and whether autonomous vehicles are deployed. Driverless vehicles must conform to the strictest safety standards, and these rules must set the framework for ensuring that they do so. In light of a high-profile argument between the National Transportation Safety Board and Tesla over the company's claims regarding "complete self-driving" capabilities, they must verify that deployed vehicles contain human intervention and control capabilities. As part of this effort, they must tighten standards and place strong restrictions on the Department of Transportation's ability to provide waivers and exemptions from federal auto safety requirements. It seems likely that the vast majority of Americans would be alarmed to find that the autonomous vehicle trials presently taking place on our roads are not subject to severe safety regulations.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has taken considerable steps to refocus the discourse away from the demands of the AV industry and toward the needs of labor and passengers through the recently released innovation principles. To "empower workers," Buttigieg has committed to implement policies that "improve access to skills and training," as well as the "freedom to establish a union," as well as ensuring that workers have a "seat at the table in shaping innovation." This is a sea change in that it places a higher value on work and huge public benefits than it does on individual riches. When it comes to adopting AV legislation, Congress would be wise to take this approach.
It is possible to ensure that employees' interests are represented at the table through judicious policy measures. It should be mandatory for transit systems, which have large unionized workforces, to alert employees in advance of planned AV tests or deployments. Being able to gain an early grasp of the worker's point of view will contribute substantial knowledge and expertise to the process, guaranteeing that antiviral programs are safe and do not serve as tools for eliminating and deskilling employees.
In Conclusion
It is stated government policy, not desire, that should guide the development of this new approach to increasing worker voice. Work implications, training requirements, and safety should all be addressed through the labor-management bargaining process, which has historically aided in addressing work implications, training requirements, and safety, as well as allowing for the introduction of new technology, as recommended by this committee.
We have an opportunity, as members of Congress and the Biden administration, to take decisive action to ensure that the future of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in our transportation systems and on our roads is driven by workers and public interest, rather than the financial goals of tech companies and multinational corporations.
