AMA Wants comments on Automated Vehicle Driving Systems and the Impact on Motorcyclists



    Federal regulator requests comment on updated automated vehicle policy
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    On Sept. 15, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requested comments on its updated federal automated vehicle policy - Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety. The deadline to submit comments is Nov. 14.




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    This issue is of vital importance to motorcyclists nationwide, as carmakers and technology companies deploy ever-more-sophisticated vehicles on our roadways. The American Motorcyclist Association needs your help to ensure that this new technology and infrastructure recognizes motorcyclists and reacts appropriately to your presence. Help us keep you and our fellow riders safe by responding to this message.




    According to the NHTSA notice, "as automated vehicle technologies advance, they have the potential to dramatically reduce the loss of life each day in roadway crashes." Reducing traffic crashes involving motorcycles and decreasing the number of motorcycle operators and passengers injured or killed each year is a top priority of the AMA. Through a comprehensive approach of promoting rider education, the use of personal protective equipment, increased motorist awareness and discouraging impaired motorcycle operation, the AMA seeks to enhance motorcycle safety in transportation and recreational activities.




    While the AMA is heartened to see that motorcyclists are mentioned in the Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety document in which they encourage entities to consider "external actors with whom the ADS may have interactions, including other vehicles (both traditional and those with ADSs), motorcyclists." We feel more should be done to ensure automated driving systems can properly interact with motorcyclists on the road.




    To protect the safety of our nation's more than 8.5 million motorcyclists, the AMA is urging NHTSA to work with manufacturers, software developers and other entities to create testing procedures that can verify the ability of this technology to safely interact with motorcyclists on the road.




    Additionally, the AMA is concerned that vehicle operators will become increasingly dependent on these automated systems and complacent with regard to their proficiency in operating their vehicles, subscribing to the mindset that "technology will rescue me from any bad decisions I make."




    Therefore, the federal automated vehicle policy should include a comprehensive consumer awareness campaign to educate the public on these new technologies and their limits.




    Advanced crash-avoidance warning systems technologies used in motor vehicles must not supplant an operator's responsibility to operate the vehicle in a safe and responsible manner. While technology can, and should, enhance the actions of the operator in maintaining control of the vehicle, safe operation of a motor vehicle should remain the operator's highest priority.




    With the safety of motorcyclists the utmost priority of the AMA, we urge you to voice your opinion before Nov. 14.




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    Hopefully the automation will be better at recognizing motorcyclists and reacting to them than human drivers. Many times drivers will see a motorcyclist but not recognize him as a threat. With attention elsewhere such as day dreaming or cell phone, they blindly continue as if no motorcycle was in their line of sight.
    Unfortunately, I see a trend where we expect the automated vehicles to be 100% safe (while we accept much less from humans). If there's one minor accident with an automated vehicle there's a ton of doom and gloom news reporting. We need to accept realistic risk IF it's a dramatic improvement in safety overall.