Frequently Asked Questions
- Act 130 and Current Laws
- How many companies are currently testing HAVs in PA?
- What if the ONLY choices for the vehicle are to hit an object that is instantaneously, without warning, in front of it (such as a person) OR collide with a vehicle in the opposing lane? How will this decision be made and what will it be?
- Why test on public roads instead of on tracks or closed courses?
- Are taxpayer dollars funding HAV testing?
Act 130 and Current Laws
Please refer to this general summary document.
How many companies are currently testing HAVs in PA? Where, and how many vehicles?
Please refer to the Certificate Holders webpage.
What if the ONLY choices for the vehicle are to hit an object that is instantaneously, without warning, in front of it (such as a person) OR collide with a vehicle in the opposing lane? How will this decision be made and what will it be?
The decision built into the vehicle's operating system will be to bring it to a state of minimal risk as swiftly as possible. Whether it should actually be programmed to make a decision between two equally bad options is probably one best left not to transportation or computer engineers, but to society as a whole, informed by a discussion of appropriate ethics. However puzzling this problem is, it may well be one more commonly taken up in graduate philosophy seminars than on the road. The real-world promise is that these dilemmas will be confronted far less frequently in a HAV that is programmed to be operating safely and alertly in the first place, than the frequency with which these situations arise today involving human drivers.
Why test on public roads instead of on tracks or closed courses?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is recommending that "test approaches should include a combination of simulation, test track, and on-road testing." PennDOT agrees and none of our comments in the policy or at the webinar should be taken to minimize the use or importance of simulations or test track testing.
Are taxpayer dollars funding HAV testing?
Current automated vehicle policies do not allocate any taxpayer money to automated vehicle manufacturers, testers, or other industry participants.