The National Highway Traffic Safety ministration (NHTSA) put out a letter in July, saying that autonomous vehicles (AVs) that get in the way of first responders is absolutely “unacceptable” and the agency is determined to fix it. According to an article in Jalopnik, the letter follows a recent closed-door meeting NHTSA had with law enforcement and first responders from areas where AVs are deployed to better understand the problems and nuances they’ve faced while trying to save lives.
“To state it bluntly: an AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public,” wrote NHTSA administrator, Jonathan Morrison. “Every second matters when law enforcement officers, firefighters, or paramedics are answering a call because lives are on the line. That is why human drivers who impede these operations are subject to fines and even jailtime.”
Morrison went on to cite multiple examples, like the blocking of ambulances and firefighters, or failing to recognize basic safety alerts and conditions. He told AV companies that issues with these vehicles blocking emergency crews, or not interacting with them appropriately or in a timely manner, is more than just a “minor software anomaly” or rare “edge cases,” and that they need to do better, ordering them to dedicate all of their resources to fixing the issue. Moving forward, NHTSA plans ongoing meetings with AV developers to hear their solutions. .
Source: Jalopni
