DALLAS -- A new trend is emerging in the national debate over robotaxis: escalating federal investigations, tough questions from members of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee and mounting data that challenges long-standing claims about the benefits of autonomous vehicles.
“When multiple federal agencies, U.S. Senators and independent safety investigators are raising similar concerns at the same time, that’s not random, that’s a trend,” said Amy Witherite, traffic safety expert and founder of the Witherite Law Group. “It is clear that rosy predictions are crashing into reality.” The addition of the NTSB, an agency known for in-depth, independent investigations, signals that autonomous vehicle deployment is entering a new phase of accountability.
