Law360 Publishes Akin Gump Analysis of Autonomous Vehicle Developments in Washington

Law360 has published the article “Congress, DOT Paving The Way For Autonomous Vehicles,” written by Akin Gump partners Susan Lent, leader of the firm’s infrastructure and transportation practice, Natasha Kohne and Anthony Pierce; counsel Diana Schaffner; and transportation policy and regulatory specialist Sidharth Sharma. The article examines recent activity in Washington, which suggests there could be movement next year with regard to autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation.

The authors write that two congressional committees with jurisdiction over AV policy unveiled draft sections of a pending AV bill this fall. This follows previous unsuccessful efforts when supporters were unable to “gain enough traction due to concerns from Democratic senators that the legislation did not require the AV technologies to include sufficient cybersecurity and privacy protections.”

The article gives an overview of the new draft legislation, which, among other things, would permit the Secretary of Transportation “to temporarily exempt highly automated vehicles, or HAVs, from federal motor vehicle safety standards.” It would also create a Highly Automated Vehicle Advisory Council, comprising “representatives from business, academia, local and state governments, consumer groups, engineering organizations, organized labor, disability organizations and others.” The authors note that this Council would be responsible for studying issues, such as “the advancement of mobility access, cybersecurity, information sharing, and labor and employment.”

To learn more about the legislation, please click here to read the article in its entirety.