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Rush Delivery: In The Air (Part 2 of 3)
This is the much-delayed second part in a series of posts I started earlier this year. In that first post I discussed how companies are experimenting with small delivery robots that crawl along sidewalks to deliver goods right to your door. However, the sidewalk is not the only place…Montréal’s soon-to-be-short-lived experiment with scooters?
Anyone currently living in a large city or an American college town has had some experiences with scooters – would that be the mere annoyance of having them zip around on sidewalks. Or, as a friend of mine did, attempt to use one without checking first where the throttle is……Congress Goes Back In On AV Legislation
Back in January, I wrote about the auto industry’s growing sense that a set of nationwide regulatory standards was needed to govern automated vehicles (AVs). To date, twenty-nine states and Washington, DC have enacted AV-related legislation. A handful more have adopted Executive Orders or developed some other form…Vehicle Rental Laws: Road Blocks to Evolving Mobility Models?
The laws and regulations governing mobility are inconsistent and antiquated and should be modernized to encourage innovation as we prepare for an autonomous car future. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) has concluded that Autonomous Vehicles, or Highly Automated Vehicles (“HAVs”) may “prove to be the greatest personal transportation revolution since the popularization of the personal automobile nearly a century ago.” Preparation for a HAV world is underway as the mobility industry evolves and transforms itself at a remarkable pace. New mobility platforms are becoming more convenient, more automated and more data driven—all of which will facilitate the evolution to HAVs. However, that mobility revolution is hindered by an environment of older laws and regulations that are often incompatible with new models and platforms. Although there are a number of different mobility models, this article will focus on carsharing, peer-to-peer platforms, vehicle subscription programs, and rental car businesses (yes, car rental is a mobility platform). All of these mobility models face a host of inconsistent legal, regulatory and liability issues, which create operational challenges that can stifle innovation. For example, incumbent car rental, a mobility platform that has been in place for over 100 years, is regulated by various state and local laws that address everything from driver’s license inspections to use of telematics systems. Although physical inspection of a customer’s driver’s license at the time of rental is commonplace and expected in a traditional, face-to-face transaction, complying with the driver’s license inspection for a free-floating carsharing or other remote access mobility model becomes more problematic. Part B of this article will review current federal and state vehicle rental laws and regulations that may apply to incumbent rental car companies and other mobility models around the country, including federal laws preempting rental company vicarious liability and requiring the grounding of vehicles with open safety recalls, as well as state laws regulating GPS tracking, negligent entrustment, and toll service fees. Part C poses a series of hypotheticals to illustrate the challenges that the existing patchwork of laws creates for the mobility industry. For instance, whether a mobility operator can utilize GPS or telematics to monitor the location of a vehicle is subject to inconsistent state laws (permitted in Texas, but not California, for example). And vehicle subscription programs are currently prohibited in Indiana, but permitted in most other states. Similarly, peer-to-peer car rental programs currently are prohibited in New York, but permitted in most other states. Finally, Part D of the article will offer some suggested uniform rules for the mobility industry.Reconsidering Safety Metrics Before Software Hits the Road
“Safety.” A single word that goes hand-in-hand (and rhymes!) with CAV. If much has been said and written about CAV safety already (including on this very blog, here and there,) two things are certain: while human drivers seem relatively safe – when considering the number of fatalities…Beyond the Coasts: 5G or Wi-Fi? V2V Standardization in Action
A European Commission plan to implement the connected car-specific 802.11p “Wi-Fi” standard for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication was scrapped early July after a committee of the Council of the European Union (which formally represents individual member states’ during the legislative process) rejected it. The standard, also known as ITS-G5 in…E-Scooters on the Rise, But Not Without Challenges
One of the most persistent issues in public transportation is the so-called “last mile” problem. The essence of the problem is that, if the distance between the nearest transit stop and a rider’s home or office is too far to comfortably walk, potential riders will be more likely to…Beyond the Coasts: Is it Just “A Different Approach”?
Many have claimed that EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) would “kill AI”. Shortly after its entry into force at the end of May 2018, the New York Times was already carrying industry concerns: “the new European data privacy legislation is so stringent that it could kill off data-driven…CAVs Add New Urgency to Data Privacy Debate
For the past several months, this blog has primarily focused on new legal questions that will be raised by connected and automated vehicles. This new transportation technology will undoubtedly raise novel concerns around tort liability, traffic stops, and city design. Along with raising novel problems, CAVs will…Beyond the Coasts: Automated Brakes Standardization Trending Globally
The European Parliament, the deliberative institution of the European Union which also acts as a legislator in certain circumstances, approved on February 20, 2019 the European Commission’s proposal for a new Regulation on motor vehicle safety. The proposal is now set to move to the next step of…