Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/949884
DOT seeks to ease path for vehicle autonomy T he U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking public input on policies to hasten the deployment of self-driving trucks, buses and passenger cars, including vehicles that require no human input to operate. DOT aims to produce a Federal Automated Vehicle Policy 3.0. In three notices filed in the Federal Register by various DOT agencies, regulators intend to glean input from developers of automated driving systems, end users and the public. One prong of three notices seeks to identify current regulations that could slow driverless vehicle testing and commercialization. On the second point, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's request for com - ment will seek input on how man- ufacturers of automated vehicle technology can certify that their systems meet safety thresholds. The last prong of the requests deals exclusively with the automa - tion of public transportation, such as buses and transit systems. Embark announced last month that its self-driving tractor-trailer became the first autonomous truck to travel across the United States. The 2,400-mile Interstate 10 jour - ney began in Los Angeles and fin- ished five days later in Jacksonville, Fla. A driver sat at the wheel ready to assume control. – CCJ staff Trump's infrastructure package relies on tolls, private sector P resident Trump, in his first State of the Union address, asked Congress to pass legislation that would lead to $1.5 trillion for spending on highways, bridges and other infrastructure projects. However, like Trump's calls for high-price-tag infrastructure packages in the past, he envisions states, localities and the private sector picking up the bulk of that total, not the federal gov- ernment. The $1.5 trillion total is $500 billion more than Trump's previous calls for using $200 billion in federal incentives and seed money to drum up funding from states and private investors for infrastructure projects. A six-page bulletin that surfaced in early January called for loosening tolling restrictions to bolster highway funding, and those plans were confirmed Feb. 12 when the administration announced more specifics about its infrastructure package. "As we rebuild our industries, it is also time to rebuild our crum- bling infrastructure," Trump said in the 80-minute address Jan. 30. "America is a nation of builders. I am asking both parties to come together to give us safe, fast, reli- able and modern infrastructure that our economy needs and our people deserve. Every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local govern- ments and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector investment to perma- nently fix the infrastructure deficit." Critics of Trump's plan, including the American Trucking Associations, have said tolls are a dead-end response toward infrastructure funding, and ATA reiterated its stance after Trump's speech and the administration's Feb. 12 announcement. "Roads are not a partisan issue – they're driven on by Republicans and Democrats alike," said Chris Spear, ATA president and chief executive officer. "As both sides of Capitol Hill know, modernizing our infrastructure will require a substantial investment — actual, real revenue. America cannot be rebuilt with funding gimmicks and finance schemes." Prior to Trump's speech, ATA released an outline for its vision for highway funding, calling on raising fuel taxes a nickel a year over four years to revive the Highway Trust Fund, which has been untouched since 1993 and has fallen behind in its ability to maintain funding for road projects. – James Jaillet 8 commercial carrier journal | march 2018 LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-news- letters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, analysis, blogs and market condition articles. President Trump discussed his infrastructure plan during his first State of the Union address on Jan. 30.