The Governor’s Steering Committee on Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment met last week for what was likely their last round of presenters. The committee expects to put forward a draft of a plan at the May meeting and work toward finalizing that plan by their final meeting in late June.

The three presenters at the April meeting included Sheryl Gross-Glaser from Community Transportation Association of America who spoke about how autonomous vehicles (AVs) could help better mobilize seniors and people with various disabilities. In her testimony, she noted the benefits of AVs to an aging population but also had concerns about connectivity in rural areas.

Kristina Boardman, a Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles Administrator spoke next on the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) creation of recommended guidelines for states on AVs.  Eighteen jurisdictions (Wisconsin was not included) were part of a committee that came together to produce a report that focuses on:

• Drivers (licensing, testing, education)
• Vehicles (registration, plates, etc.)
• Law enforcement considerations

Boardman said she expected the AAMVA set of guidelines to be released very soon.

The final speaker was Trooper Tracy Drager from the Wisconsin State Patrol.  She put forward a lot of concerns to the committee about how AV data would be collected by law enforcement. She believed law enforcement could be at a disadvantage in determining fault in an accident where the driver blamed the AV system.  She also voiced concerns over access to data and the potential costs associated with law enforcement having to extract data where an autonomous vehicle is involved in either a crime or infraction.

The Committee is scheduled to meet again on May 23.