Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao spoke on Sunday about the need to educate the public about the benefits of automated driving technology. This signals that the Trump administration may be interested in advancing self-driving technology and removing regulations put in place last year.

Speaking to the National Governor’s Association, Secretary Chao told the audience that she would be reviewing the self-driving vehicle guidelines put in place by the Obama administration in September.

The guidelines called on automakers and autonomous technology companies to adhere to a voluntary 15-point safety assessment. According to a DOT statement issued when they were published, the goal of the guidelines was to “ensure public safety while establishing a strong foundation such that the rules of the road can be known, understood, and responded to by industry and the public.”





Almost immediately after they were published however, autonomous vehicle companies issued numerous complaints about the guidelines, including that they might prove to be too restrictive, delay testing, and require them to share data.

Those concerns seem to have found a receptive ear. Chao stated in her speech that the Trump administration will seek to make sure that the guidelines would be “a catalyst for safe, efficient technologies, not an impediment.”

Citing 35,092 traffic crash deaths in 2015, Chao highlighted the importance of automated driving, saying that “there’s a lot at stake in getting this technology right.”

She even called on “Silicon Valley, Detroit, and all other auto industry hubs” to make it their goal to “help educate a skeptical public about the benefits of automated technology.”

Some trucker groups have expressed concern over what will happen to the millions of people currently employed as professional truck drivers if trucks become autonomous. Addressing that, Chao did say she was “very concerned” about the impact that automated technology might have on workers. Ultimately though, she said that “we do have to transition people.”

Source: reuters, thehill, theverge, DOT, fortune