April 26, 2021
The Honorable Maria Cantwell, Chairman
U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
420-A Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Roger Wicker, Ranking Member
U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
420-A Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Cantwell, and Ranking Member Wicker:
My name is Clark Rachfal, and I am the Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs for the American Council of the Blind (ACB). ACB is a nationwide member-driven advocacy organization that strives to increase the security, independence, economic opportunity, and quality of life for people who are blind and experiencing vision loss. Eliminating barriers to transportation and enhancing independent travel are critical to ensuring people with disabilities are integrated in our communities and have equal opportunities to move freely. For these reasons, ACB strongly supports the inclusion and passage of S. 1260 as an amendment to the Endless Frontier Act as offered by Senators Peters and Thune, which would incentivize American companies to test and develop accessible autonomous vehicles.
People with disabilities, including our members who are experiencing vision loss, routinely encounter limited transportation options for independent travel. For those living in an urban environment, people with disabilities are subject to long wait times and unreliable service from public transportation, paratransit services, and discrimination due to their disability or service animals from human drivers. Conversely, Americans with disabilities living in suburban and rural parts of the nation remain physically and mentally isolated with few transportation options. Autonomous vehicles hold the promise of truly on-demand and independent travel for people who are blind. Allowing this technology to flourish under a national testing framework will enhance the transportation options, quality of life, and economic opportunity for people who are blind and experiencing vision loss.
The two most significant measures of this amendment for our members and all Americans living with vision loss are granting the Department of Transportation the authority to provide regulatory exemptions for manufacturers who are promoting transportation access in accordance with Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the prohibition of requiring a driver’s license to operate an autonomous vehicle. These provisions will incentivize U.S. manufacturers of autonomous vehicles to include accessibility for people with disabilities at the forefront of their design, testing, and development process; ensuring that access for people with disabilities is a foregone conclusion and not an afterthought. Additionally, if driver’s licenses are required to own or operate an autonomous vehicle, millions of Americans with disabilities will be prevented from gaining equal access to this transformational technology. For these reasons, ACB urges the Commerce Committee to adopt S. 1260 as an amendment and secure independent travel for all Americans regardless of disability or where they live.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this letter supporting S. 1260 as an amendment to the Endless Frontier Act. If the Committee has any questions, please contact Clark Rachfal, ACB’s Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Clark Rachfal
Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
CC: Members of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee