The Autonomous Vehicle Initiative
SAFE’s Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Initiative develops policies to advance the adoption of evolving vehicle technologies that provide new opportunities for more energy efficient and accessible mobility options, greater roadway safety, economic growth, and increasing America’s energy security.
Through its Center for Automated Transportation Technology, SAFE explores how to integrate AVs into existing transportation infrastructure by examining the barriers and benefits to wide-scale deployment and consumer adoption of Automated Driving Systems (ADS).
SAFE advances policy that enables innovation and supports a comprehensive federal-level regulatory framework to test and deploy autonomous vehicles.
Our Goals
- Educate policymakers on the benefits of a national regulatory framework for the safe testing and deployment of AVs.
- Identify ways automated vehicle technology can increase social and economic mobility.
- Inform AV manufacturers about the profitability and goodwill benefits of equity applications.
- Engage city and state-level stakeholders on ADS application policies.
- Recommend policies, refine existing law and regulations, and streamline legislative activities that unlock the benefits of widespread AV adoption.
Meet Dr. Allanté Whitmore
Dr. Allanté Whitmore is the Director of SAFE’s AV Initiative and the Center for Automated Transportation Technology. Dr. Whitmore holds a joint Ph.D. from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). She brings automated vehicle technology and policy expertise from researching the environmental, equity, economic, and ethical impacts of autonomous vehicles.
During her tenure at CMU, Allanté was awarded multiple fellowships including the K&L Gates Presidential Fellow and Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship. Whitmore proudly serves on the Board of Directors for PAVE – Partners for Automated Vehicle Education.
