Self-driving cars took to New Orleans last year to learn the roads, pot holes, and all of the city’s idiosyncrasies. These “robotaxis,” an AI-powered product of Waymo, have collected some impressive numbers and are proving to be significantly safer than cars driven by humans. The promise of reduced accidents and the secondary benefit of increased tech sector activity make an active robotaxi fleet a desirable addition to the streets of New Orleans. As is so often the case with feats of technological innovation, state-by-state regulations are a hindrance to a more uniform rollout for autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Waymo is not yet active in New Orleans, despite months of testing, and compliance burdens are no small part of the reason. Recent reporting cites that Waymo (rightfully) has strenuous safety benchmarks that they strive to meet before completing the testing phase in a city. Beyond Waymo’s own methods, the State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans will meet the self-driving cars with their own conditions—or none at all. The Times-Picayune reports that the autonomous vehicle company must still request and obtain certifications from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Additionally, “Potentially further complicating Waymo’s plans to operate in New Orleans, the City Council is considering mandating that it obtain a city-issued permit—known as a certificate of public necessity and convenience—like those required for taxis, pedicabs and horse-drawn carriages.” In short, driverless car companies, the states, and cities in which they are trying to operate are all forging their own conditions and trying to develop standards on the fly.
The national climate is not particularly welcoming—a patchwork of state laws and regulations, combined with bureaucratic resistance to the implementations of AVs. As a result, many areas will be excluded from the benefits of driverless cars, despite the profound promise of crash, injury, and death prevention. State lawmakers and local officials have limited frameworks and resources available for developing standards for new technologies that touch upon areas of transportation, artificial intelligence, data, and public safety. A federal policy, crafted by Congress, could ease the burden on both innovators and local governments by providing clear (and literal) rules for the road.
In a recent op-ed, Adam Theirer and Kevin Frazier, of R Street and the Abundance Institute respectively, argued that Congress’s failure to establish a national standard for AVs epitomizes the dilemma faced by new and emerging technologies.
Absent a clear indication from Congress as to which questions are truly national, states will carry on passing more and more laws. Each new state law amounts to a new barrier to competition, innovation, and a robust interstate marketplace.
But all is not lost. Congress has proved itself capable, even quite recently, of creating frameworks which alleviate some of the burdens from both state legislatures and innovators. The SECURE Data Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and represents an answer to the years old conundrum faced by any technology that relies on data (which is essentially all of them) of how to navigate the plethora of conflicting state rules regarding data privacy. While the SECURE Data Act is still under debate, its introduction alone could mark a positive harbinger of federal frameworks to come, while lifting prohibitive compliance barriers from sectors across the nation.
Driverless cars in New Orleans and a comprehensive data privacy standard in Congress have more in common than one might expect. The future of both hinge on lawmakers’ willingness to return to the principles that made America’s economy and tech sector so great; basic principles of federalism, the free market, and an environment where bold innovation can thrive.
