Connected & Driverless Vehicles: Challenges and Opportunities for Highway Authorities

Tom Bamonte General Counsel North Texas Tollway Authority tbamonte@ntta.org @TomBamonte TRB Workshop: July 17, 2012

Overview

• Coming reboot of highway operating system • Opportunities for highway authorities • Challenges for highway authorities • Recommendations

2

Why Care About Autonomous Vehicles

• Shift in public demand – For connected people driving is the distraction

• Safety • Transportation management

– “If 25 percent of vehicles on a stretch of road are equipped to automatically follow the traffic ahead, journey times can be reduced by 37.5 percent and delays reduced by 20 percent”

• Cost-effective alternative to some transit • Capacity expansion at lower cost • More mobility for many more people

3

Rapid Technology Uptake

• 2004-2007 DARPA Challenges • 2010: Google announces it had successfully

tested autonomous cars on California roads • 2012: Nevada licenses first autonomous

vehicle • 2014-2017: “Traffic Assist” in production

vehicles allows self-driving at up to 30 mph • 2020: Japan implements autonomous vehicle

lanes on expressways

4

Current Highway Operating System • Current system = legal and operational silos

– Vehicles—OEMs & NHTSA – Vehicle operation—state traffic laws & licensing – Highway building/operation—FHWA & DOTs

• Highway authorities – Limited function—pavement & signage – Communication (e.g., signage) channeled to vehicle

through human operators

• Stable legal environment

5

Program Upgrade: Highways 2.0

• New connections – Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) – Vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) – Vehicle & infrastructure to Cloud

• Human operator supplemented then displaced

• M2M communication predominates • New vehicle types and services possible when

travel is safer and more networked

6

One Glimpse

7

Legal Implications

• How do siloed agencies and legal regimes deal with newly integrated technologies?

• Who is held responsible when things go wrong once driver is supplemented/displaced?

• Who sets rules for vehicle types/operation? – Queue jumping for premium customers – Congestion management – Non-traditional vehicles

8

Choice for Highway Authorities

• Ostrich approach—keep laying down the pavement and leave the rest to others

• Facilitate deployment and operation – Safety benefits – Capacity increase w/in existing footprint – Reduced capital demands – Traffic management improvements – Optimal infrastructure/vehicle technology mix – Invent cool and useful stuff

9

The Special Role of Toll Authorities

• Revenue: More efficient use of highway space = more revenue per highway lane

• Revenue: Expensive lane expansion projects can be delayed or eliminated

• Revenue: Offering premium experience to customers can support higher prices

• Revenue: Improved traffic management reduces revenue loss from “incidents”

• Revenue: New toll collection possibilities

10

Special Role of Toll Authorities-cont.

• Experience with electronic linkages to customers—transponders & customer accounts

• Experience with privacy issues associated with technology

• Experience with managed lanes will translate to autonomous vehicle lanes

• Experience with technology projects

11

Other Items State/Local DOTs Can Bring to Table

• Tort liability legal regime – Capable of handling new technology

• Immunities – DOT involvement can help shield deployment

• Speed of deployment • PPP potential • Economic development potential encourages

competition for deployment

12

Challenges--Internal

• State/local DOTs not centers of innovation • Ingrained culture of caution • Value proposition seems hard to make in

fiscally-constrained times—fix bridge or chase technology vanguard?

• Road builders, not technology organizations • Need to develop or buy technology project

management expertise

13

Challenges--external

• Limited interaction with OEMs, both practically and legally

• Public fears—Big Brother • Federal leadership lacking

– Tepid response to Google car – Slow rollout of 5.9 Ghz DSRC communications – Risk that federal regulation will choke innovation – Where’s that NASA-circa 1965 feeling?

14

Recommendations

• DOTs – Partner with OEMs, universities and private sector

• Focus on infrastructure-vehicle links and how infrastructure can best accommodate technology

– Adopt autonomous vehicle legislation – Begin identifying first mass deployment sites—

e.g., autonomous vehicle lanes in congested areas – Innovate on infrastructure side – Factor connected vehicle technology in capital

investment planning

15

Recommendations—cont. • Federal government

– Keep pushing against distracted driving—powerful force for work-around innovation

– Facilitate work on infrastructure technology/best practices – Don’t rush to regulate in-vehicle technologies or use one-

size fits all approaches – Protect wireless communications platforms – Factor new technologies in environmental/capital

investment decision making – Break down silos and adopt connected/autonomous

vehicle technology as national goal – Leapfrog Google

16

Resources

• Tom Vanderbilt, Let The Robot Drive • Anthony Park & Matthew Nelson,

DriverlessCarHQ • Bryant Walker Smith, Automated Driving:

Legislative & Regulatory Action

17

MISSION ● provide a safe and reliable toll road system ● increase value

and mobility options for our customers ● operate the Authority in a businesslike manner ● protect our bondholders ● partner to

meet our region's growing need for transportation infrastructure.