How safe is safe enough? That's the question for autonomous vehicles
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Teenagers have to pass a driving test before they can get a license.
- For autonomous vehicles, the standard of achievement is when it's better than a human driver.
Why it matters: Absent federal regulations on autonomy, AV companies are essentially self-regulated. They get to decide when "safe" is "safe enough," which is hard to prove and naturally leaves room for interpretation.
- "Just trust us," isn't very convincing to the majority of Americans who are afraid of self-driving technology, according to a AAA survey.
Driving the news: AV trucking company Aurora Innovation says it plans to begin driverless operations in Texas this month, ushering in a new era that will reshape the trucking industry.
- It means motorists on I-45 between Dallas and Houston might soon find no one in the driver's seat of the semi-truck in the next lane.
Yes, but: Aurora says it won't launch its driverless trucks until its safety case is fully closed.
- A safety case is a structured argument of claims, with supporting evidence, that companies use to show how and why an autonomous vehicle is safe enough to deploy on public roads.
- Each company's safety case is unique, based on the specific vehicle and where and how it would operate.
- In the case of Aurora, the safety case for launching driverless operations from Dallas to Houston was 99% complete as of the end of January, the company said recently, and now its rollout is imminent.
Between the lines: Aurora's safety case framework is explained in its voluntary safety self-assessment that all AV companies are encouraged to file regularly with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explaining their approach to safety.
- These voluntary filings are an effort to build public trust through transparency, but they can vary in depth and rigor; some read like marketing brochures.
- Gatik, an AV company focused on "middle-mile" logistics (such as between warehouses), enlisted a third-party auditor to validate aspects of its safety case in an effort to set a new benchmark for transparency, beyond self-certification.
The bottom line: Transparency and data could help build trust in autonomous vehicles, but given consumers' persistent fears about self-driving technology, it's going to take time.
