Talks at Google: US DOT’s 30 Year Framework for the Future of Transportation

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt had discussion on Talks at Google. The topics of the discussion was “Beyond Traffic: US DOT’s 30 Year Framework for the Future”. Transportation will change drastically in next three decades because of the change in demographics and the changing needs of many individuals all across the globe. With the exponential increase in the advancement of technology, especially, in the fields of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, the transportation system we have today may needed to be re-structured and re-regulated to meet the needs of the changing new world.


Transcript

Eric Schmidt asked when will the autonomous cars be regulated and allowed on public roads? Mr. Foxx said the transportation system is dynamic and innovative which can move very fast but the regulatory framework at state and federal level should not be slow to act on it.

He added that Safety is the number one priority and driver-less cars and other innovative vehicle technology could actually help reduce the fatalities every year. He sees good future for these safety technologies.

Future of Transportation - 30 Years from now!
Future of Transportation – 30 Years from now!

On the question about transportation system of the United States, Mr Foxx said that the public transportation development is currently local to the State and it is up to local authorities to develop good transportation system that is lacking in many parts of the United States. He added – the high speed trains can happen soon as we can see some signs of it on Texas and Florida.

145 million dollars fund is dedicated to the study of automated vehicles for research and development. Therefore, the future of transportation system, three decades from now; has many challenges, as well as, prospects for much improved system with the innovation in technology and automation.

Source: The TRACY Law Firm | Original Publication: Feb 16th 2015