Last week, the US Department of Transportation Secretary announced theNational Roadway Safety Strategylaunch.
The strategy aims to respond to a national crisis: deaths and serious injuries involving cars and heavy trucks.
It gets its funding from the bipartisan Build Back Better bill.
The strategy alludes to some interesting research.
Post-crash care
Is the aim of zero safety just wishful thinking?
The US is not the first country to focus on a zero fatality approach.
Sweden first instigated it under the monikerVision Zeroin 1997.
Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK have since followed suit.
But I think this is the perfect time for this project.
TheBuild Back Better Actfocuses onrepairing and improving road infrastructure.
Im also interested in the admission of human error.
Autonomous vehicles aim to reduce road accidents, offering greater safety than human drivers.
The plan makes mention of tech such as automated braking.
However,human-assisted vehicle automationcan also lead to accidents.
Ill be interested to see how and if this plan can manage the contention.
Is the safety problem Tesla self-driving mode or the lack of attention of the driver?
Im curious how self-enforced speed limits work, given the strategy also promotes greater use of speed cameras.
Overall, this is an ambitious proposal.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
