[VIDEO]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the below opening statement at a hearing on the future of self-driving vehicles featuring testimony from Lars Moravy, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering at Tesla, Waymo’s Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Pena, Jeff Farrah, Chief Executive Office for the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association and Professor Bryant Walker Smith, Associate Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina’s Rice School of Law. 

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think, you know I certainly want to get the Surface Transportation Bill done. I think I've mentioned it as my number one priority since your taking over the committee, so I hope we will get to that.

“I don't know whether this kind of legislation is the appropriate place for that, but I do know that nearly 40,000 people die on the roads each year, and thankfully, we have seen how innovation in vehicle technology can make human drivers safer on the roads. For instance, automatic emergency braking technology has been shown to reduce injuries from rear collisions by 60 percent. These technologies are saving lives today.

“Fully autonomous vehicles offer the potential to reduce crashes on roads, but we have seen the risk of letting companies beta-test on our roads with no guardrails. In 2024 a report from NHTSA linked Tesla's autopilot to hundreds of crashes, including at least 13 fatal crashes and many more injuries. Safety advocates have linked 65 fatalities to Tesla's automated technologies.

“These tragedies have occurred in my state. In April 2024, Jeffrey Nissen, from Stanwood, Washington was killed when Tesla's autopilot system failed to recognize his stopped motorcycle. Tesla was allowed to market their technology—which they knew needed human supervision—as Autopilot because there were no federal guardrails. In fact, it was the state of California, not the federal government, that forced Tesla to change its marketing or lose the ability to sell in that state.

“So, I do believe that federal agencies have a role. But what's happened so far is the Trump administration has tried to gut NHTSA, the federal agency is responsible for ensuring the safety of vehicles. He basically, in efforts of DOGE, lost 25 percent of their employees. I would say, at this point in time, it's trying to figure out—what are the latest and greatest technologies, and the people that understand them and can do appropriate oversight—not basically gut the agency.

“At one point last year, the Office of Automation just had four people, four people, four people. I don't even know if they knew about automation, but only four people. Fewer resources mean less enforcement. NHTSA launched 41 percent fewer recall investigations last year than in 2024. NHTSA recalls protects consumers. For instance, over 67 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled in the U.S. after NHTSA confirmed that 28 people were killed when defective air bags exploded. Chrysler recalled 2.7 million vehicles after 51 people died in fires from gas tank ruptures in rear end collisions.

“And I have a suspicion right now that a lot of repair dealers are installing faulty air bags from Chinese manufacturers that are failing to protect consumers. And where is NHTSA in protecting and finding out what is happening with these faulty air bags? Are we going to just continue to let people die in the United States? Without strong federal oversight, it is no wonder states are seeking to fill the void.

“You will hear today from witnesses who believe that the best way for the federal government to keep people safe is through a safety case for autonomous vehicles. Companies may try to reassure us that the safety case is a living, breathing document, but I have my own experience having seen this played out in the aviation sector. And all I can tell you is strong oversight is needed. Why? Because the best engineers, working on the best safety, is going to deliver the best product and the best economies for us, in addition to the best safety. So, we cannot just rely on a checklist.

“I do agree, Mr. Chairman, we need a new approach. I'm happy to work with you on that approach. Industry proposals seek to force autonomous vehicles into the existing framework of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This is the 60th anniversary of that law. The Federal Motor Safety Standards has prevented over 18 million crashes. However, the Federal Motor Safety Standards were designed to regulate bumpers, and car doors, and seat belts and a variety of things that they're not on top of today. The law was passed 20 years before the first Windows computer was ever sold. So, it's time for us to get a NHTSA that understands technology and knows what to do with it.

“This revolutionary technology needs a new approach to safety that provides for flexible guardrails for beta testing and a clear path to safe commercial deployment. It needs to have an educated, as I just mentioned, strong, safety oversight from officials and the resources to make it the gold standard, just like we need in aviation.

“I did find interesting the House debate on this…in which California Teamsters basically came out and called for a Waymo ban, in which a lot of anxiety existed. Really, Mr. Chairman, underneath was the fact that a law most people were concerned about [was] somehow going to allow very large trucks to exist on our highways in automated vehicles. That seems to be the real crux of the issue. So just like everything else, the devil is in the details. The devil is in the details of how we get here.

“I noticed that after hearing, that again, Teamsters, safety advocates, even insurers, found fault with a preemptive strategy that was unclear. I think we're going to hear from Professor Smith about that. I think the last point of your statement is that—well, I like two lines in your statement—quote, “and people [are] dying today, not because we are careful about automated driving, but rather because we are careless about the safety generally.” And the notion that—further quoting you—"I have read many versions of potential preemptive language. In every case, the preemptive effect and even the preemptive intent of that language has been unclear to me.”

“Okay, so we're dealing with this in AI, and I do think we have to talk about the overlay of AI and AV and how that's going to work. And if we're going to have a preemptive strategy, then it has to be a real law, and it has to have real teeth, and we have to understand exactly what we're doing. But please understand, many Americans, including Teamsters, are very anxious about how this plays out for them, how this plays out for very large trucks, and how we move forward on advancing both the safety regime that we need here and how we to continue to be leaders. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

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