Asked the City Manager to allow autonomous vehicle (AV) testing in Cambridge provided certain conditions are met

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ORIGINAL ORDER

It has come to the attention of the City Council that City officials are considering permitting autonomous vehicle (AV), aka “self-driving cars” testing on city streets; and A pedestrian in Arizona was killed by an AV operated by Uber on March 18, 2018, the first such fatality on record; and Preliminary information suggests that Uber was testing the modified Volvo with its built-in safety features turned off, and with only a single test driver who appears to have been distracted just prior to the crash; and Waymo, nuTonomy, Optimus Ride and Delphi (renamed Aptiv), have lodged millions of miles of AV testing in cities across the world, including Boston, with a stellar safety record; and Recent traffic fatality data indicates that the fatality rate has increased in recent years despite a decline in vehicle ownership and significant improvements in vehicle safety technology including collision avoidance, automatic braking, and adaptive cruise control; and There are no clear federal or state guidelines for allowing AV testing on public roads; and There is considerable potential to reduce pedestrian and bicycle collisions and fatalities through the use of AV technology; now therefore be it ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to allow AV testing in Cambridge, provided the following conditions are met: There shall be two test drivers per vehicle at all times Vehicles will obey all posted and specified speed limits at all times, including the recently enacted 20 MPH safety zones Companies will submit all data collected in Cambridge upon request, including but not limited to: video, LIDAR, radar and other sensor data, route travelled, average speed, deceleration and acceleration events, and any other data that could help us evaluate their safety and suitability for continued testing in Cambridge Companies will submit a written statement outlining off-road testing conducted to date and full description of safety-features of the vehicles being tested, including collision avoidance and automatic braking, as well as full description of test driver qualifications and training; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to promptly report back to the City Council on this matter.