A Waymo, customized Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, used for Google's autonomous vehicle program drives down 8th Street in San Francisco A Waymo, customized Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, used for Google's autonomous vehicle program drives down 8th Street in San Francisco. (Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM)

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As motor vehicle technologies continue to blur the definitions of “driver” and “machine,” the implications for the everyday motorist and the law enforcement officers on the front lines of highway safety can easily be overlooked.

On May 8 in Arlington, Virginia, the Governors Highway Safety Association (the “GHSA”), through the support of State Farm, will convene a panel of experts to consider issues arising from new motor vehicle technologies and provide recommendations for state highway safety agencies, law enforcement, and other safety advocates.

The panel represents a wide spectrum of national experts from the federal government, the automotive and technology industries, criminal justice organizations, national safety groups, and the GHSA's State Highway Safety Office members.

“Autonomous vehicles and burgeoning safety technologies hold tremendous potential for saving lives on our roads, but public understanding of what these vehicles are – and aren't – capable of is paramount toward achieving these benefits,” said Jonathan Adkins, the GHSA's executive director.

At the same time, law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges are the “boots on the ground” for enforcing traffic laws, responding to traffic crashes and adjudicating traffic offenses. These partners need to know what to expect as these technologies take the road and how to navigate the adjudication process when laws are broken and crashes occur.

This project unites automated vehicle thought leaders to consider these education and enforcement challenges and present recommendations that states can use as they adapt their behavioral traffic safety programs to reflect the ever-changing technology landscape on our roads. The effort builds upon the GHSA's 2018 report Preparing for Automated Vehicles: Traffic Safety Issues for States.

Following the May 8 meeting, the GHSA will develop a white paper to inform its members and all traffic safety stakeholders of the outcomes of the expert panel. Recommendations will be presented at GHSA's 2019 Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California, from August 24 to August 28.

Learn more: www.ghsa.org.

 

Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. Ms. Spears is the Associate Director of the Insurance Coverage Law Center and editor of journals on insurance law, banking law, bankruptcy law, energy law, government contracting law, and privacy and cybersecurity law, among other subjects. She may be contacted at [email protected].