Who is Elaine Chao related to

Autonomous driving: US government is reviewing guidelines for self-driving cars

Washington The new US administration wants to review its predecessor's recommendations for self-driving cars. The guidelines issued in September under President Barack Obama have been criticized by the industry. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Sunday that Donald Trump's administration wants to be "a catalyst for safe, efficient technology," not an obstacle.

She called on corporations in Detroit and Silicon Valley to do their part to “educate a skeptical public about the benefits of automation”. Studies show that 94 percent of car accidents were due to human error, Chao said. "A lot depends on getting this technology right."

Among other things, the recommendations of the Obama administration stipulate that car manufacturers voluntarily hand over details of their autonomous systems to the regulatory authorities. In addition, the states should adopt the relevant federal guidelines. In the USA, traffic regulations are actually a matter of the country. Leading US automakers have complained that the guidelines allow large amounts of data to be transferred and that vehicle tests could be delayed by months. In November you asked the new Trump administration to revise the recommendations.

Numerous American companies such as Alphabet, GM, Ford, Uber and Tesla are currently working flat out on self-driving cars. In the US, the number of road deaths rose by seven percent in 2015, the highest rate since 1966. In the first nine months of last year, the increase was as much as eight percent. At the same time, there are concerns about job losses: 3.5 million Americans alone are employed as truck drivers, plus related jobs such as taxi companies.

Chao said she was "very concerned" about the potential impact of the new technology on the job market. The economist was Secretary of Labor for eight years under President George W. Bush. She is the wife of the Senate Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell.