NHTSA Believes Technology Can Prevent All Car Deaths And Is Poised To Do So - Is That Possible?

Mark R. Rosekind has taken the helm of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at a critical juncture for the federal agency. Not only did he fill the role of NHTSA Administrator in the midst of the massive GM ignition-switch and Takata airbag recalls, but also at a time when technology is quickly transforming automotive.

The car industry  is facing enormous changes due to innovations ranging from autonomous driving to vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and these will also have a profound influence on NHTSA’s main priority of ensuring vehicles are safe and reducing traffic deaths. As a former NASA scientist and member of the National Transportation Safety Board, Rosekind is well versed in the effects technology will have in reshaping passenger vehicles in the years ahead and how to prepare NHTSA to deal with the disruptions that are just down the road.
 

TheSteve - 3/23/2015 1:03:20 PM

+1 Boost

Let us remember that the aerospace industry has had a LOT more money and technology thrown at it than cars, and yet they haven't been able to prevent all possible deaths. Humans make mistakes. Machine might be able to help in some cases. Machines fail, and sometimes they do the wrong thing. When systems fail, superb human training might save the day, as we see in numerous aircraft incidents (e.g., "Miracle on the Hudson").

Those are the realities. Thinking that tech will save us all is similar to the beliefs we adopted in the late 1800s that pharmaceuticals will one day cure all our ailments. Instead, North America has become the most drug addicted and chronically ailing population (i.e., it's considered "normal" to take a daily prescription drug, or several, for life).

We are forever on the search for The Magic Amulet.