Federal Highway Administration National Dialogue on Highway Automation: June 7, 2018 Launch Workshop Summary

Overview

Automated vehicles (AVs) have the potential to transform the Nation's roadways. They could increase vehicle safety, improve transportation system efficiency, and enhance mobility for many people who may be unable to drive today. Although they offer a wide range of benefits, they may also introduce uncertainty for the agencies responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the Nation's roadway infrastructure.

In June 2018, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) initiated the National Dialogue on Highway Automation (National Dialogue), a series of meetings held across the country to facilitate information sharing and engage the transportation community in a conversation on how to safely and efficiently integrate automated vehicles into the road network. A diverse group of stakeholders provided input on key issues regarding automation. This input helps to inform future and existing FHWA research, policies, and programs.

The National Dialogue series consisted of six national workshops, each held in a different location and focused on a unique topic: policy and planning, data and digital infrastructure, freight, operations, and infrastructure design and safety. The workshop series kicked off with an introductory webinar in May 2018. More information about the webinar and meetings is available on the FHWA National Dialogue on Highway Automation website.¹

Workshop Objectives

The FHWA identified several objectives for the workshop series:

• Gain an understanding of potential impacts of automated vehicles on national highway infrastructure, safety, policy, operations, and planning.
• Prioritize actions to inform the integration of automation into existing FHWA programs and policies.
• Create models for sustained information sharing among public agencies and the private sector. Support newly developed partnerships among these organizations and define a clear path of communication among FHWA and automation stakeholders.
• Gather insights from infrastructure owners and operators and inform the development of possible technical guidance actions at the Federal level.
• Validate or provide direction into highway research priorities and roles among FHWA, national partner organizations, industry, and State and local governments.
• Develop an engaged national community or coalition on integrating automated vehicles into the roadway system, using inputs from States, local governments, industry, and associations, alongside FHWA and other Federal agencies.

Launch Workshop

On June 7, 2018, the FHWA kicked off the National Dialogue with a Launch Workshop in Detroit, Michigan, as part of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America 2018 Annual Meeting. The workshop focused on three discussion areas:

• Perspectives on the priorities and challenges in integrating automated vehicles into the national transportation system.
• FHWA roles and responsibilities to assist in the advancement of highway automation.
• Input on the design and structure of the National Dialogue series.

Nearly 200 participants from industry, government, academia, and interest groups participated. This document summarizes key themes that participants raised throughout the breakout sessions. The views in this document reflect participants' inputs and do not represent official positions, policies, or statements of the FHWA or the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). In addition, the document includes participant ideas, regardless of their consistency with FHWA's or USDOT's legal authorities.