Autonomous car developers lobby to defang US safety data regulations

The 360 vision system with its cameras, radar panels and lidar sits atop Waymo’s all-electric Jaguar I-Pace SUV in San Francisco, California, US. Automated vehicles could indeed lead to consequential reductions in crashes, injuries and deaths. But more information, not less, is essential to track progress toward that goal and to prevent half-baked technology from threatening the public, the safety groups say. — Reuters

The fast-rising autonomous vehicle industry is lobbying US federal safety regulators to limit the amount of data companies must report every time their cars crash, arguing that the current requirements get in the way of innovation that will benefit the public.

The industry’s efforts to make driving safer and more accessible are at risk of being “drowned out by misinformation, inflation or dubious data without context” under reporting rules issued last summer by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says Ariel Wolf, general counsel for the industry lobbying group Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets. Among its members: Alphabet-owned Waymo, Argo, Ford, General Motors, Cruise, Volvo, Aurora, Motional, Zoox, Uber and Lyft.