Senators probe driverless car testing amid lax Trump oversight

Enlarge / Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), left, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in 2014. (credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In the last couple of years, companies like Uber, Waymo, and GM’s Cruise have been testing more and more self-driving vehicles on public roads. Yet important details about those tests have been kept secret.

Two Democratic senators are determined to change that. Last Friday, they sent out letters to 26 car and technology companies seeking details about their testing activities—part of a broader investigation into the safety of driverless vehicles.

“In March, a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, was tragically struck and killed by a vehicle operating under autonomous technology,” wrote Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in their letter to Uber. “The latest fatality has raised many questions about the processes companies have in place to guard public safety when testing this type of technology on public roads.”