Alliance for Automotive Innovation releases AV deployment guidance

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The Alliance for Automotive Innovation recently released its automated vehicle (AV) guidance, which offers a series of regulatory and policy harmonizing recommendations.

The “Policy Roadmap to Advance Automated Vehicle Innovation: A four-year plan to revolutionize transportation” contains 14 specific recommendations addressing reforming regulations to allow for AV deployment at scale; harmonizing federal, state, and international policies; and establishing the foundation to achieve longer-term objectives.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation maintains autonomous vehicles “have the potential to solve many of our current transportation dilemmas” and created the guidance, unveiled at a webinar hosted by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation with stakeholders from OEM and policy groups, in hopes it would support and guide AV policymaking.

During the webinar, panelists discussed the difficulties of testing and deploying AVs nationwide amid current state-by-state laws and regulations. At the same time, manufacturers addressed the necessity of coordinating federal and state AV policies for the new vehicle technology to be safely and effectively tested and deployed.

Recommendations discussed included clearing a regulatory pathway for AVs by creating a new AV vehicle and improving the exemption petition process for manufacturers to produce and test AVs.

“The steps policymakers take today will have implications for years to come,” the Alliance for Automotive Innovation concluded in the policy document. “If we work together to get it right, we will reap the benefits of a safer, cleaner, and smarter transportation system.”