Driven to Debate: House Bill 7 and the Potential Consequences of Fully Autonomous Vehicles on Public Roads in Kentucky and on a National Scale
Blog Post | 113 KY. L. J. ONLINE | November 5, 2024
Driven to Debate: House Bill 7 and the Potential Consequences of Fully Autonomous Vehicles on Public Roads in Kentucky and on a National Scale
By: Claire Gussler, Staff Editor, Vol. 113
On July 15, 2024, House Bill 7 established a regulatory framework that allowed fully autonomous vehicles on Kentucky’s roads.[1] Representative Josh Bray, the bill’s sponsor, stated that this legislation was designed to establish a framework for the future rather than to get driverless vehicles on the road as soon as possible.[2] With this bill, Kentucky became the 25th state to permit autonomous vehicles on public roads.[3] Although more than half of the states have now enacted a similar bill permitting autonomous vehicles (“AVs”) on public roads (19 have fully allowed AV operation and 12 have allowed simply testing), the decision to enact such legislation is rife with controversy from a safety and security standpoint, not only in Kentucky, but nationally.[4]
A 2024 AAA survey found that nearly 70% of Americans remain fearful of fully self-driving cars.[5] For many critics of the autonomous vehicle movement, safety is at the forefront of their concerns.[6] Critics argue that self-driving cars are less capable than humans when dealing with odd or unpredictable situations that may arise while driving.[7] Another source of risk concerning personal safety with autonomous vehicles stems from the technology itself.[8] Karl Lagnemma, CEO of nuTonomy, a startup specializing in self-driving car software, highlighted the dangers posed by software bugs, noting that, “the biggest threat to an occupant of a self-driving car today isn’t any hack, it’s the bug in someone’s software because we don’t have systems that we’re 100-percent sure are safe”[9] A remedy for this lack of surety regarding the complete safety of autonomous vehicles does not seem to be in the cards any time soon. Steven Shladover, a researcher at the Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology at the University of California, Berkeley, remarked that creating “safety-critical, fail-safe software for fully driverless cars would necessitate a complete rethinking of software design.”[10] The consequences of a software failure in an autonomous vehicle could be disastrous to the occupants of autonomous vehicles. This concern is widely acknowledged among American consumers; a recent survey revealed that 79% of respondents expressed fears that essential equipment for driverless cars might fail at some point.[11]
Additionally, those concerned about the safety of self-driving vehicles have noted cybersecurity, and the possibility of hacking as other hot-button issues to consider within the realm of autonomous vehicles.[12] Over half of the respondents in a 2014 survey about autonomous cars expressed concerns regarding the potential for a hacker to take control of the vehicle.[13] Historically, security experts have managed to hack into modern cars, successfully taking control of vehicles like the Tesla Model S and Jeep Cherokee.[14] This has raised alarms among critics, who worry that fully autonomous vehicles—operated entirely by computer systems without human input—could be at risk of being exploited by hackers through security vulnerabilities.[15] These critics fear that such breaches could enable hackers to seize control of a car or deliberately induce a crash.[16] Some speculate that the potential hackability would allow vehicles to become “instruments of terror.”[17]
However, proponents of autonomous vehicles claim that self-driving cars can potentially make driving safer.[18] Advocates of autonomous vehicles claim that by eliminating human error, fully autonomous vehicles would make roads safer for everyone on or near them, including drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians.[19] Martin Kristensson, the head of product strategy at Volvo, explains that because self-driving cars are designed to "learn from driving experiences collectively, as a community," they can improve much faster than individual drivers, potentially making them far safer than traditional vehicles driven by human beings.[20] Additionally, advocates of self-driving cars claim that the increase in autonomous vehicles will promote convenience, access to mobility, efficiency, and traffic congestion prevention.[21]
While many Americans remain skeptical about the introduction of fully autonomous vehicles onto public roads, it seems the tide is inescapably shifting; autonomous vehicles are certainly a part of our future. Though House Bill 7 marks a significant step forward in Kentucky’s adoption of fully autonomous vehicles, the journey toward widespread acceptance and implementation is fraught with challenges. As concerns about safety, cybersecurity, and technology reliability persist, a balanced dialogue between critics and advocates will be essential in shaping the future of transportation.
[1] H.B. 7, 2024 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ky. 2024).
[2] Daniel Kehn, Kentucky Now Allowing Self-Driving Vehicles in State, Gov’t Tech., (July 15, 2024), https://www.govtech.com/transportation/kentucky-now-allowing-self-driving-vehicles-in-state.
[3] Id.
[4] Autonomous Vehicle Statutes and Regulations Across the 50 States, Baker Donelson, (Sept. 20, 2024), https://www.bakerdonelson.com/autonomous-vehicle-statutes-and-regulations-across-the-50-states.
[5] Devika Rao, The Pros and Cons of the Self-Driving Car Revolution, The Week, (Sept. 24, 2024), https://theweek.com/the-big-debate/1021491/pros-and-cons-of-the-self-driving-car-revolution.
[6] Kehn, supra note 2.
[7] Rao, supra note 5.
[8] Steven D. Jansma, Autonomous Vehicles: The Legal Landscape in the US, Norton Rose Fulbright, (August 11, 2016), https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-us/knowledge/publications/2951f5ce/autonomous-vehicles-the-legal-landscape-in-the-us.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Adam Hayes, The Unintended Consequences of Self-Driving Cars, Investopedia, (Oct. 18, 2024), https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/090215/unintended-consequences-selfdriving-cars.asp.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Rao, supra note 5.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Ed Garsten, What Are Self-Driving Cars? The Technology Explained, Forbes, (Jan. 23, 2024, 2:19 PM), https://www.forbes.com/sites/technology/article/self-driving-cars/.