Senate committee agrees on need for federal safety standards for automated vehicles

Robotaxi pioneers Waymo and Tesla urged Congress Wednesday to set federal safety standards for self-driving cars, addressing the complication of differing state regulations and staying ahead of global competition.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has the opportunity to set the safety standard for autonomous vehicles in the U.S. and globally, Lars Moravy, vice president of vehicle engineering at Tesla, told lawmakers.

An array of state regulations presents automated vehicle companies with uncertainty, he told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, calling for a path forward that is consistent across all 50 states. 

He encouraged Congress to equip NHTSA to address the realities of this new frontier to maintain America’s position in global technological development.

Waymo is an American success story, but U.S. leadership is not guaranteed, said Mauricio Pena, chief safety officer at Waymo.

“We are locked in a race with Chinese companies for the future of autonomous vehicles,” he said. “If they win this race, Chinese companies, not the U.S., will set the technical standards for the rest of the world to win.”

The U.S. needs a predictable, durable, national regulatory framework that sets a high safety standard, Mr. Pena said, or else a fragmented landscape of state regulations will foster uncertainty, slow investment and create unequal access to the technology.

Sen. Ted Cruz, chair of the committee, has been an outspoken proponent of autonomous vehicles to decrease traffic, reduce distracted driving and limit the number of car crashes.

“Congress has failed to establish a clear federal framework to govern AV deployment, and inaction is no longer neutral; it is unsafe,” the Texas Republican said. “Without federal oversight, we risk a fragmented patchwork of state laws that could undermine safety innovation and American competitiveness.”

Waymo has been plagued with negative press in the past few months, most notably after one of its robotaxis hit a child near a Los Angeles-area elementary school last week, prompting a NHTSA investigation. The child suffered minor injuries after running into the street from behind a double-parked vehicle.

Waymo said it called 911, and the vehicle moved to the side of the road until law enforcement arrived.

“We performed an analysis as well of how we would compare with an always attentive human driver, and we found that the Waymo driver would have responded faster,” Mr. Pena said. “So in this case, I believe that we mitigated harm.”

Waymo uses binding arbitration agreements, putting the company’s liability into question, said Sen. Maria Cantwell, Washington Democrat.

“I’m not going to sign a binding arbitration agreement with Waymo and then basically say, ‘I can’t sue them,’” she said. “I guarantee you this Congress isn’t going to be for that, either.”

National safety regulations can follow three points, said Jeff Farrah, CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association. 

First, policymakers should order the Department of Transportation to boost safety requirements for all autonomous vehicles. Second, the government should streamline safety data reporting in a national repository, housed by NHTSA, that collects and shares information with state regulatory partners. Third, federal standards related to human-driven vehicles should be modernized.

If a Waymo vehicle encounters a difficult driving situation, a remote assistance operator can act as a guide. Some operators are in the U.S., and some are abroad, which Sen. Ed Markey described as unacceptable and a safety issue.

“We don’t know if these people have U.S. driver’s licenses, and let’s not forget, Waymo is trying to replace the jobs of hardworking taxi and rideshare drivers, and now you’re saying that of the human beings, the human jobs that remain in the system, you’re shipping those jobs overseas,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. 

Tesla has invested more than $2 billion in Texas to operate 1,200 jobs a shift at first, and then, when fully ramped up, 5,000 jobs, Mr. Moravy said. 

The hearing comes days after Waymo announced $16 billion in new funding as it expands its service globally, while Congress pushes for the U.S. to be the dominant automated vehicle fleet.