ANN ARBOR—The U.S. Department of Transportation announced today its Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, intended to facilitate the responsible introduction of automated vehicles to make transportation safer, cleaner, more accessible and more efficient.

Huei Peng, director of the University of Michigan Mobility Transformation Center and the Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, issued the following statement in response:

“The University of Michigan supports the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy announced today by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The policy promotes safe innovation and is an important step toward speeding the development of advanced mobility vehicles and technologies, and ensuring their benefits will be fully realized, particularly improving safety.

“The policy provides flexibility. It doesn’t lock in regulations that might take a long time to build on, but gives vehicle developers in industry and in the academic community an opportunity to learn and improve as technologies develop.

“The U.S. DOT’s policy provides a clear path forward for our work, and reinforces the broad research portfolio we’re already undertaking, which goes beyond technology to encompass questions about the impact on society of connected and automated vehicles.”

More information:

• Huei Peng
• U-M Mobility Transformation Center
• U-M Transportation Research Institute