Hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation - Opening Statement of Sen. Bill Nelson - Hearing on the Future of Self-Driving Cars

Hearing

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing.

I also want to thank you and the committee staff for arranging the autonomous technology demonstrations this morning for members of the committee.

I know it was not easy to set this up -- particularly with all of the security that we have around the Capitol -- and I really appreciate your efforts.

From the outset, I want to say that I share everyone's enthusiasm and excitement about the prospect of self-driving cars.

If truly autonomous vehicles become a reality, it's not an exaggeration to say that our overall sense of mobility would be revolutionized.

Many lives could be saved by reducing preventable accidents.

Our environment could be significantly greener through reduced emissions.

Efficiency and productivity could sky rocket, and underserved communities without reliable means of transportation could finally be integrated into the global economy.

And in Florida and many other states, this technology could be particularly beneficial for seniors and people with disabilities.

But we have to get the technology right so that self-driving cars live up to their full promise.

Congress and the federal government must play a critical role, and that means, yes, we must foster a regulatory and legal environment in which American businesses are able to develop and manufacture these vehicles.

But it also means that we must exercise responsible oversight by asking the tough questions today to make sure these cars of tomorrow are safe for the public.

As we have seen with both the Takata airbag crisis and the GM ignition switch recall, individual components of vehicles with defects can snowball into big problems.

With autonomous cars, the stakes are even higher.

For example, can you imagine what would happen if little cybersecurity flaw allowed thousands -- or even millions -- of autonomous vehicles to get hacked while they are out on the road?

One small defect could lead to a massive safety crisis -- and we have to get this right.

Safety has to be built into these vehicles.

And if a problem comes up, manufacturers and regulators have to get together and quickly find solutions.

No more cover-ups or head in the sand approaches to safety.

If we are to avoid similar tragedies in the future, we must ask difficult policy questions and have frank discussions on what can go wrong and what can be done to prevent it.

I hope we can do that today.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.

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