Comment on the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy

In a public filing for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), we provide comment on the recently proposed Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. Our central concern is the agencies suggestion to construct a new premarket regulatory authority for automated vehicles modeled on the Federal Aviation Administration. If NHTSA’s proposed premarket approval process slows the deployment of automated vehicles by even 5 percent, we project an additional 15,500 fatalities over the course of the next 31 years. At 10 percent regulatory delay, we project an additional 34,600 fatalities over 33 years. And at 25 percent regulatory delay, we project an additional 112,400 fatalities over 40 years. NHTSA would be better served by tailoring the existing post-market regulatory regime for the intricacies of a world with automated vehicles. Additionally, we provide comment to the agency on algorithmic regulation and potential ethical considerations.