Sacramento — Eight
major technology industry associations have written to Brian Kelley, the
Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, to express significant
concerns about the DMV’s proposed regulations on autonomous vehicles. The effort was organized by TechNet and
joined by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the Bay Area Council, CompTIA,
CTIA, the Consumer Technology Association, ITI, and the Auto Alliance.

In the letter, the organizations write: “Most importantly, the current regulations,
if not amended, will miss a critical opportunity to increase safety and reduce
accidents…California should be a leader in the future of automotive safety, not
an obstacle. It is also important to
realize that the current draft regulation would ultimately mean that the
transformative social and environmental benefits of fully autonomous technology
would be precluded from being realized in California. Clearly and indisputably, it will mean that
disabled and elderly citizens in California will not have new mobility options
opened up to them because they cannot obtain a driver’s license. Less intuitively, it will also result in a
failure to achieve the environmental and traffic benefits that are present in
fully autonomous systems.”

The text of the letter follows.