Autonomous Vehicle Regulation and Trust

Abstract

The autonomous vehicle (AV) industry works very hard to create public trust in both AV technology and its developers. Building trust is part of a strategy to permit the industry itself to manage the testing and deployment of AV technology without regulatory interference. This article explains how industry actions to promote trust (both individually and collectively) have created concerns rather than comfort with this emerging technology. The article suggests how the industry might change its current approach to law and regulation from an adversarial posture to a more cooperative one in which a space is created for government regulation consistent with technology development. This article proposes a way forward that involves rethinking the use of SAE J3016 as part of AV law and regulation, instead taking a new direction based on distinguishing test platforms from production vehicles.