Self-driving car advocates launch ad campaign to prod
Congress
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 [September 26, 2017]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A coalition of
supporters of self-driving cars said on Tuesday that it will run ads
this week in social media and Washington newspapers, in an effort to
convince the U.S. Congress to adopt sweeping legislation to boost the
nascent industry.
The ads are being placed by the Coalition for Future Mobility, which was
formed in July by trade groups representing major automakers, along with
other advocates for self-driving cars, as Congress began serious
consideration of bills relating to autonomous vehicles.
They want the Senate to pass a bill that would speed up the use of
self-driving cars by easing safety regulations, and bar states from
blocking such vehicles. The House of Representatives has already
unanimously approved a bill.
The Senate is considering a similar draft measure, but is divided over
whether to include large commercial trucks, a dispute that could prevent
the bill from winning approval this year.
The House measure, which only applies to vehicles under 10,000 pounds
(4,536 kg), would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to
25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the
first year. The cap would rise over three years to 100,000 vehicles
annually.
As part of the campaign, major automakers will be contacting their
employees and retirees, asking them to reach out to their members of
Congress, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
said.
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A fleet of Uber's Ford
Fusion self driving cars are shown during a demonstration of
self-driving automotive technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
September 13, 2016. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk
The coalition launched a website and will use targeted Facebook advertising,
focusing on groups who could benefit from autonomous vehicles, such as disabled
veterans.
One of the print ads seen by Reuters features a man dressed in military fatigues
sitting in a wheelchair. The ad says: "He fought for our freedom. Let's give him
back his." That "will only become a reality if Congress acts," the ad says.
The coalition includes trade groups representing automakers General Motors Co,
Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG <VOWG_p.DE>, as well as organizations
including ride sharing firm Lyft Inc, the Telecommunications Industry
Association, the American Council of the Blind and a drone industry group.
Senate aides have been negotiating in recent days but have not reached
agreement. A Senate panel could take up the issue at an Oct. 4 hearing, aides
say.
Auto industry leaders say 3 million commercial truck jobs could eventually be at
risk if self-driving vehicles replaced human drivers.
Self-driving proponents say 94 percent of U.S. car crashes are the result of
human error and argue self-driving cars could dramatically cut the 35,000 annual
road deaths.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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