A coalition of self-driving vehicle advocates known as “The Coalition for Future Mobility” will begin running an ad campaign meant to prod the US Congress into moving things along with regard to the legislation necessary to get autonomous vehicles onto the country’s roads, according to recent reports.
This advertisement campaign will reportedly feature ads placed in Washington DC newspapers, as well as on social media. So there’s probably a decent amount of money involved in the efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the advocate group was formed in July by trade groups that ultimately get much of their backing from major US auto manufacturers.
Reuters provides more:
“They want the Senate to pass a bill that would speed up the use of self-driving cars by easing safety regulations, and bar states from blocking such vehicles. The House of Representatives has already unanimously approved a bill.”
“The Senate is considering a similar draft measure, but is divided over whether to include large commercial trucks, a dispute that could prevent the bill from winning approval this year.”
“The House measure, which only applies to vehicles under 10,000 pounds (4,536 kg), would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to 25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the first year. The cap would rise over three years to 100,000 vehicles annually.”
Interestingly, as part of the campaign the auto manufacturers involved will apparently be “contacting their employees and retirees, asking them to reach out to their members of Congress.” So, calling in all of the overdue favors in other words. I guess that you could say that the auto manufacturers involved feel very strongly about getting self-driving vehicles onto the roads as soon as possible?
The Reuters coverage continues: “One of the print ads seen by Reuters features a man dressed in military fatigues sitting in a wheelchair. The ad says: ‘He fought for our freedom. Let’s give him back his.’ That ‘will only become a reality if Congress acts,’ the ad says.”
Wow. Is that one manipulative ad, or what?
Firms that are known to be supporting the efforts by The Coalition for Future Mobility include: GM, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Lyft. The American Council of the Blind, the Telecommunications Industry Association, and a drone lobby group are also known to be involved.
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