Bryan Reimer Appears Live on NBC, Reacts to NHTSA Call to Action

AgeLab research scientist Bryan Reimer was featured on a live episode of NBC’s Stay Tuned NOW this July. The program, anchored by Gadi Schwartz, is a Gen Z-targeted segment covering the latest breaking news. During his appearance, Reimer discussed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) recent letter to developers of automated driving systems.

The letter, signed by NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison, denounces a recent “disturbing trend” of autonomous vehicles interfering with first responders including police, firefighters, and paramedics; such vehicles have at times failed to yield to emergency response personnel or react to environmental dangers like fire and smoke.

Reimer had previously identified the risk for autonomous vehicles to obstruct the operations of public safety workers as part of his work on the Department of Transportation’s Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee.

On Stay Tuned NOW, Reimer echoed Morrison’s assessment that these recent incidents represent more than “edge cases” and should instead be understood as an “operational readiness problem.” To address the issue, he argued that developers and operators need to show accountability and work within existing transportation systems in order to earn trust with the public.

Reimer has called a potential model for such work a “conditional permit,” where operators would start under defined conditions and expand or restrict their operations according to safety data gathered on the road. He says conditional permits would help build public trust before an accident causes it to be lost.

Watch Reimer’s full appearance here (feature from 59m 04s to 63m 00s) or read more about his reaction to the NHTSA letter here.