By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters), – U.S. labor organizations and a consumer safety advocate urged the Biden government to strengthen safeguards before autonomous vehicles can be deployed in large numbers on U.S. roadways.

At a hearing of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, lawmakers raised concerns over self-driving cars but said that technology could prevent thousands of deaths on roads.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety President Cathy Chase said that we need to be able to see what is happening on the roads. She advocated for minimum standards of performance.

Ariel Wolf (general counsel of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association) told lawmakers that autonomous vehicles “not only make our roads safer, but are also safe.” Our roads are in crisis. The AVIA stands for Ford Motor (NYSE) Co. Alphabet (NASDAQ) Inc.’s Waymo.

According to U.S. regulators, traffic deaths during the first nine months in 2021 was the most severe since 2006.

For years legislation has been held up to expedite the introduction of self-driving vehicle and reduce hurdles. It is not moving. U.S. safety regulators also investigate a variety of Tesla Inc accidents involving its Autopilot driver assistance system. Tesla says its systems have been tested and are reliable.

Tesla, under heavy pressure from regulators on Tuesday, agreed to disengage a feature in its “Full Self-Driving” (Beta), which enabled vehicles to travel through stop signs without stopping completely, and at very low speeds. On Wednesday, Hank Johnson, a representative from Texas, criticized Tesla’s feature.

Doug Bloch from the Teamsters stated to the committee that workers “deserve to be able to trust that an autonomous vehicle, or bot that is traveling beside them is safe enough so they can share the same road and worksite.”

John Samuelsen of Transport Workers Union of America said that Congress must establish and enforce strict safety standards on autonomous cars.

“AV technologies that haven’t been properly evaluated and scrutinized by independent federal safety regulators, technologies that attempt to cut corners to address their own limitations, and technologies that are intentionally designed to displace workers should all be suspect,” Samuelsen added.

Peter DeFazio from the United States, who is chairing the committee, stated that more than 1400 autonomous vehicles are currently being tested in 35 states by over 80 companies.

DeFazio explained that AVs have the potential to increase safety and should be held accountable by regulators. “We all know the consequences of letting industry operate unchecked. We can’t cut corners just because it is convenient or expedient.”

Many lawmakers wondered if self-driving automobiles could threaten jobs.