President Obama conceded late Monday that regulations “can go too far,” and that sometimes government “gets it wrong” as he explained the need for new rules of the road for the auto industry.
Obama made the statements in an op-ed published late Monday on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s website to promote a new administration push to ensure public safety when it comes to automated vehicle technologies that are starting to show up in newer model cars. Those new cars incorporate advanced computer controls, sensors and radar to do everything from helping a driver maintain control of a vehicle, to replacing the need for a driver altogether.
Obama said that while the government has been known to mess up regulations on new technologies, he didn’t think that was the case this time in the case of new auto regulations.
“Regulation can go too far. Government sometimes gets it wrong when it comes to rapidly changing technologies,” he wrote. “That’s why this new policy is flexible and designed to evolve with new advances.”
There will always be “those who argue that government should stay out of free enterprise entirely, but I think most Americans would agree we still need rules to keep our air and water clean, and our food and medicine safe,” he added.
“That’s the general principle here. What’s more, the quickest way to slam the brakes on innovation is for the public to lose confidence in the safety of new technologies,” Obama explained. “Both government and industry have a responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen. And make no mistake: If a self-driving car isn’t safe, we have the authority to pull it off the road. We won’t hesitate to protect the American public’s safety.”
The administration is trying to get out ahead of the new technology by proposing new standards for industry to help ensure the public that the vehicles are safe.
He explained that in his seven-and-a-half years as president, self-driving cars have gone from “sci-fi fantasy” to a growing reality with the potential to change how people live. He said the technology can make driving safer and more accessible, with “less congested, less polluted roads.”
Obama explained that “for too many senior citizens and Americans with disabilities, driving isn’t an option,” but “automated vehicles could change their lives.”
“That’s why my administration is rolling out new rules of the road for automated vehicles – guidance that the manufacturers developing self-driving cars should follow to keep us safe,” he said. “And we’re asking them to sign a 15-point safety checklist showing not just the government, but every interested American, how they’re doing it.”
He said the future can be bright for these new technologies, “[b]ut we have to get it right. Americans deserve to know they’ll be safe today even as we develop and deploy the technologies of tomorrow.”
That will be the focus of a White House summit that will be held in Pittsburgh next month.
“We’re determined to help the private sector get this technology right from the start,” he said. “Because technology isn’t just about the latest gadget or app – it’s about making people’s lives better.”
“That’s going to be the focus of the first-ever White House Frontiers Conference on Oct. 13,” he said. “And what better place to hold it than Pittsburgh – a city that has harnessed innovation to redefine itself as a center for technology, health care and education.”
