CONGRESS UNITES (GASP) TO SPREAD SELF-DRIVING CARS ACROSS AMERICA, Aarian Marshall, Wired, 9/6/17
Recently, the House has passed a bill to help regulate and support the making of self driving cars. Although the bill has yet to go through the Senate, it seems promising as the bill gained bipartisan support in the House. The bill covers both how to regulate the privacy of self driving cars and how to make it easier for companies to experiment with and move these cars along so they can be sold to consumers. There are already regulations on what an automobile must have, such as a steering wheel and brakes, but for an autonomous vehicle, these features could actually become dangerous. The solution to take some of the power out of states hands is to officially give the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) power to regulate vehicle design, construction, and performance. States will still have authority over vehicle registration and licensing, but they'll have a harder time making demands about what goes on inside the car. Today, there can only be 2,500 exceptions to the automobile restrictions already in place, but the bill allows for the NHTSA to raise this number to 25,000 in the first year and double it every following year. This means there can be more testing cars on the road. In addition, the bill regulates what companies can do with the information it has access to such as the location of your car at all times. With technology evolving at such a fast rate, we are likely to see more self driving cars on the road in the next few years.
1. Why do you think this bill gained support from both Democrats and Republicans in the House? Do you think it will be different once it reaches the Senate? Why?
2. Who (if anyone) would be against this bill becoming a law? Why?
3. What are some apparent issues within this bill or excluded from this bill that will likely cause concerns before this bill becomes a law? Explain.
In my opinion, I believe this bill gained support from both, the Democratic and Republican parties due to the fact that it ensures the safety of Americans, a shared desire from both parties. I do not think this would change once brought to the Senate.
ReplyDeleteCar manufacturers would potentially be against this bill becoming a law. Many car manufacturers have not yet obtained the technology that would be required to manufacture self-driving cars. Therefore, if people would prefer a self-driving car over a car controlled manually, certain car companies would take a toll, as new, up and coming car companies would prosper.
An apparent hole in this bill would be the invasion of citizens' privacy. Due to the fact that car companies would be able to monitor the location of all times, customers would perhaps feel violated. They believe that their privacy is an inalienable right.
2. The people potentially against the bill becoming a law could be older car manufacturers and investors in them. Essentially, the older people who have more at stake in the past would not want to advance to self-driving cars because they would be financially disadvantaged. Additionally, conservatives who are against the advancement of technology could be skeptical of the dangers, and thus not want the possibility of endangering people. The taxi business could also oppose these advancements, because self-driving cars have the potential to replace their business. Lastly, because of the high tech of these cars, there is the likelihood of it progressing more towards cleaner energy which would also endanger the businesses of oil companies, thus causing them to voice their thoughts. Thus, because these old, conservative, investor-type people have more to lose, they will likely be the ones against the bill becoming a law.
ReplyDeleteI believe it has gained support to increase the market, and overall technology. I believe it will differ in the senate mostly due to age, most people may be scared to this exponential increase in technology, and fear the possible outcomes of it.
ReplyDelete2: A probable pro-proponent would be Engineering and Mechanical Unions, who will either have to educate themselves on self-driving software, or even be in a situation that follows with less available jobs in their specific union.
3: A major problem with this bill is the amount of regulations in self-driving, probably cause a economic increase in cars and wouldn't be a middle class purchase where ultimately would hurt car manufacturers.
I believe that this bill received support from both parties because it will promote the market for automatic cars by making it easier test and experiment them as well as ensuring that safety and privacy standards are met. I think certain car manufacturers would be against the bill because the production of self-driving cars would be taken over by a select few companies which would reduce sales for the other manufactures. An obvious issue with this bill would be how well the cars would work. They could be potentially hacked and their navigation system would work on GPS which would make it hard to adapt to severe road conditions like heavy snow or rain.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans approved the bill because states have stepped in to regulate the electric cars. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the bill because the statistics are in favor of self-driving cars, as “94% of fatal crashes can be attributed to human error”. Thus, it is obvious that Congress needs to establish strict, strategic rules to ensure safety and regulate the process. I think it will pass the Senate, because traditionally the House has had lower approval rates, as there are more differences of opinions with 435 Representatives. For example, with the Immigration Bill of 2013, it passed the Senate, but not the House.
ReplyDeleteI think that this bill was able to gain the support from Republicans and Democrats in the House since the bill is relatively bipartisan in nature, as it concerns the well being of all Americans. Because of this, the support from the Senate will likely not be much different from the support of the House. Although the Senate and the House have become more polarized, this bill benefits all Americans, making it more likely for even members with more partisan viewpoints to agree on the bill. Car manufacturers, the taxi industry, and automobile transportation services including Lyft and Uber may be against the bill since the emergence of self-driving vehicles would be a threat to their businesses and cause people in those companies to potentially lose their jobs. An issue with this bill may be an individual's privacy, since the bill may not have adequate enough regulations over what the companies can do with a person's personal information. Because of the rapid advancement of technology and the internet, there may be many ways in which these companies could bypass the regulations outlined in the bill.
ReplyDeleteI believe the bill has gained support from both parties because it will protect everyone. Many are afraid of increasing technology and this bill will ensure more safety and regulation. Car manufacturers would be against this bill because it makes their process longer and more difficult. It also gives them more things they need to work on such as privacy of those who own a self driving car. An issue with the bill is the regulations. What do they need to regulate, how will they be able to regulate all the cars, and how will accidents be handled?
ReplyDeleteI believe that both Democrats and Republicans support this bill because it will increase the safety of humans on the road. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and I think if it was supported within the House, there should not be a problem for it passing through the Senate. On the other hand, certain groups and/or people that would disapprove of this law are those of the older generation who are concerned with the rapid advancement of technology, car companies that need to make a difficult transition from the cars they currently make to self driving cars, and lastly, services such as Uber, Lyft, Taxis, Buses, etc, because people will not rely on them anymore for transportation. A common concern about this bill becoming a law is making sure the self driving cars are actually safe and work properly.
ReplyDeleteThe bill likely gained support from both parties as it will move the technology and automotive industry forward, and benefit most individuals in some way. I do believe that the bill will pass the senate due to the importance of the issue and the potential benefit that it has. Despite the Senate's older representatives, most will likely see the true demand for these regulations, and thus will likely pass it. In my opinion, those who will oppose this bill will likely be those involved in the taxi industry as it seems like a perfect opportunity to replace those jobs, due to this system not needing drivers.
ReplyDeleteThe bill most likely gained support from both parties because it is a step forward in both the technology and automobile industries, and will help ensure the safety of Americans. Potential groups that may oppose this bill becoming a law include taxi drivers and Uber/Lyft because their services will become increasingly irrelevant. I would say one of the bigger issues with this bill is the matter of privacy. A self-driving car will contain lots of data on an individual's frequent locations, which would bring up the question of how will private information be protected?
ReplyDelete-Clare Lei
2) People associated with the auto industry would be against the bill. For example, the growth of self driving cars would put taxi drivers and chauffeurs out of work. Big car companies would gain increased competition from the tech industry. Mechanics would have to learn completely new ways to fix self driving cars.
ReplyDeleteI believe this bill has support from both parties, however, there are various of potential issues once implemented. For example, self-driving cars will not be able to gain the favor of all drivers. Companies like Uber or Lift will oppose. Additionally, humans cannot intervene when the self-driving car is driving because it could be dangerous. As a result, these cars can be more prone to technical difficulties and thus more accidents. Since this is uncharted territory for all countries, there are too many unknown problems that can arise when this bill is implemented.
ReplyDelete2. The possible opponents of this new bill would be the car manufacturers and taxi companies. The car manufacturers would most likely oppose this bill, especially older or non advanced car companies due to the fact that they may not have the money in order to take part in this advanced technology. This can put their business and investors at risk for the future of the company. Another group that would oppose this new bill are the taxi companies that could lose a lot of business if these new self-driving cars come into effect. It could be more effective for people who want to get places quickly and cheaply in the long run, so this is why taxi businesses will most likely oppose this bill so it does not take away their customers.
ReplyDeleteThere would be two main opponents of this bill. The first would be other car manufacturers that do not produce autonomous vehicles as they might worry that this competition would impede their business and revenue. The second main opponent would be the doubter of the viability of autonomous vehicles. Many argue that in order for self driving cars to work, all cars on the road must be self driving, allowing them to communicate with each other and increase safety. These people would be against the bill as they would not think it would be safe.
ReplyDeleteI think that this bill can potentially have party support from both parties. Although some people may think commercial companies, like car rental services, will oppose the bill, self-driving cars actually decrease the cost paid to drivers for companies like Lift. Less money spent by companies on drivers, however, effects the unemployment rate as self-driving cars will likely serve as an indicator of a lot more automated jobs. This could temporarily take a toll on the economy but I believe automated cars could reduce car insurance when the cars are perfected to avoid accidents.
ReplyDeleteI would say it is plausible that both parties favored this bill due to the fact that it pushed for a progression in technology. With this being said very specific safety regulations will have to be put in place. This is a type of vehicle congress has never dealt with before, as there is no human control involved. Moreover, I believe the bill will pass due to the fact that it will most likely ensure further safety and a reduction of petty traffic violations.
ReplyDelete2). The large automobile companies like GMC who are the leading providers for American cars would be against this proposed bill. This would cause competition and as consumers are more intrigued by "smart" materials, the self-driving cars industry will thrive against traditional automobiles.
ReplyDelete