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COLTON WYATT
Duval County encompasses the Jacksonville, Florida area. Recently, State Representative Jason Fischer was quoted as claiming, "It {driverless vehicles} increases mobility for our society in a way that's hard to quantify - for people with disabilities, people who are vision-impaired or cannot drive at night". However, the question remains how true this statement actually is concerning autonomous vehicles. I'm your host Colton Wyatt and welcome to Cracker Croakers for Monday, February 11, 2019. Joining me on the panel this morning are representatives from both sides of this issue. My first question is for Marvin Velez, a watchdog for Citizens Opposed To Autonomous Automobiles. Let me ask you this, Marvin, is it time Florida, and the rest of the United States for that matter, prepares for a future dominated by driverless vehicles?

MARVIN VELEZ
Florida is a pioneering state for autonomous vehicle development but that does not necessarily mean the general public is ready for these vehicles.

GEORGE MADISON (Anxious to join the discussion)
Wait just one minute there, Mr. Velez. Autonomous vehicle development eliminates requirements for human operators to always be on hand to take control of vehicles fully capable of being controlled by software systems.

MARVIN VELEZ
Correction, Mr. Madison. Eliminating the human safety net would lead to more crashes involving your prized autonomous vehicles because this technology you squabble about isn't ready for everyday use.

GEORGE MADISON (Shakes his head)
Squabble? What eliminating the human safety net would actually do, Mr. Velez, is make roads safer. This was established by a 2017 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report that concluded as many as 94 percent of serious automobile crashes are the direct result of human errors.

COLTON WYATT (Looks at both of them)
Isn't it true that currently companies in Florida cannot test autonomous vehicles because current laws on the books in that state prohibit driverless vehicles on public property?

GEORGE MADISON
To set the record straight, Colton, these vehicles can be tested on public property. And, there are all sorts of economic opportunities involved here.

MARVIN VELEZ
What these proposals need is much debate and revision. Hopefully, the Spring session of the Florida Senate hearings will do just that because these autonomous vehicles do not presently comply with federal safety standards or even the laws of the state in which autonomous vehicle builders want to test them.

GEORGE MADISON
Mr. Velez, I wish you'd get your information correct. Autonomous vehicles are exempt from the requirements and restrictions imposed upon human drivers. Not only that, sir, but whoever is in the driver's seat of these vehicles can watch movies or television from a dashboard-mounted video screen.

MARVIN VELEZ
Well, isn't that hoity-toity? NOT!

COLTON WYATT
Let me throw this out there for your response. As long as the autonomous vehicle's driving system is capable of summoning authorities after a crash it's reported there's no need to require a human to stand at the crash site.

MARVIN VELEZ
Surely anyone can see the fallacy of this situation that was first mentioned by the director of infrastructure and governance policy for the advocacy program Autonomous Florida.

GEORGE MADISON
Mr. Velez, this advocacy program is rather valid as it was created in 2018 by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. No longer is it fair for a human to speak for an algorithm.

COLTON WYATT
Considered groundbreaking at the time, Florida lawmakers enacted the state's current law in 2012.

MARVIN VELEZ
That law as written, requires a human operator be inside or outside autonomous vehicles on public roads. Moreover, they must be ready to assume manual control of the vehicle in case of a technical failure. So much for your prized driverless cars not needing humans to operate them, Mr. Madison.

GEORGE MADISON
Fortunately, the ride-sharing company Uber came along to deploy driverless technology and announce fleets of autonomous vehicles would be created. This will allow millennials to subscribe to car services that can be ordered on demand. The wave of the future is now.

MARVIN VELEZ
What is fortunate Mr. Madison is that several high-profile crashes have made experts with any sense at all rethink how fast autonomous vehicles are placed on the highways.

COLTON WYATT
Let's examine some current autonomous vehicle programs throughout the state of Florida. Mr. Madison, we'll start with you. What can you tell us about Ford's Smart Mobility project in Miami?

GEORGE MADISON
The Legacy automaker, in conjunction with Argo AI, is testing its Virtual Driver System on the streets of Miami.

MARVIN VELEZ (Cuts him off)
I should add, Miami is one of the country's most congested cities and that makes these tests dangerous to the general public.

GEORGE MADISON (Annoyed)
Before I was so rudely interrupted by Mr. Velez, who will get his turn to speak, I was about to inform you that Miami is an ideal laboratory for teaching an autonomous vehicle system to interact with a human-centered environment. Testing is also underway in Detroit, Pittsburgh, and the nation's capitol of Washington, D.C.. Even Mr. Velez should be able to detail what's happening with Voyage in The Villages.

MARVIN VELEZ
The Villages is perhaps one of the largest retirement communities in the United States. Autonomous vehicle manufacturers believe they have a captive audience halfway between Orlando and Gainesville because of the 125,000 residents who live on The Villages 750 miles of privately, Mr. Madison, owned roads.

GEORGE MADISON
I'll take over from here otherwise Mr. Velez may not present this information accurately. These Villagers, as the residents are popularly known by, have the Chrysler Pacifica at their disposal anytime they wish to ride to the town squares, which are the centers of attraction for The Villages. Or, maybe they wish to play golf on one of the property's many PGA-approved courses, or need a lift to a healthcare facility as these residents are mainly senior citizens.

MARVIN VELEZ
Mr. Madison, I am quite capable of completing what I began to say before you so boldly chimed in. Voyage chose The Villages because the environment is simpler and has well-maintained two-lane roads for conveyance. Not only that, but Voyage's fleet only travels 20 miles per hour, which does nothing for testing their autonomous vehicles at higher road speeds.

GEORGE MADISON
Twenty miles per hour is ample time for the autonomous vehicle's sensors to perceive, predict, and react to whatever occurs on the road, Mr. Velez.

COLTON WYATT
That brings us to Transday. Which one of you wants to tell our audience about them? Perhaps you, Mr. Velez?

MARVIN VELEZ (Glares at Mr. Madison, who sits smirking)
If I can speak without Mr. Madison's constant interference, I will be glad to tell you about Transday. They operate driverless shuttles, that have been referred to as "toasters on wheels," in Gainesville, Jacksonville, and near the Lee and Charlotte Counties' border in the southwestern portion of Florida. Providing riders simple benches to sit on, these vehicles operate on small tires, at approximately 10 miles per hour. (Insulting) They also remind of stagecoaches from the Old West!

COLTON WYATT
Mr. Madison, why don't you tell us about Starsky Robotics, the other current autonomous vehicle operation in Florida.

GEORGE MADISON
Starsky Robotics is a self-driving trucking company that achieved an industry first in Florida in 2018. They piloted a semi-truck eight miles on an interstate without a driver. Additionally, long hauls of freight will be transported by these trucks, excluding the first and last mile of the route, which is remotely controlled by tele-operators.

MARVIN VELEZ
Did you hear him? Tele-operators remotely controlling 80,000 pound vehicles on major interstates without a driver! And, just what makes interstates such easy environments to automate?

GEORGE MADISON
Interstates have good lanes, good markings, and no cross streets.

MARVIN VELEZ (Laughs)
None that I've ever seen fit that bill.

COLTON WYATT
Along with Florida Polytechnic University, the state's Department of Transportation, and Central Florida Automated Vehicle Partners, the Florida Turnpike Enterprise is the agency currently in cahoots in the construction of a 400-acre testing course called SunTrax.

GEORGE MADISON
Autonomous vehicles are going to transform the way people and goods are moved in a way that's hard to imagine!

MARVIN VELEZ (Firmly)
What autonomous vehicles are going to result in is more innocent people being killed in crashes along America's roadways.

COLTON WYATT
All that remains to be determined. Thanks to our guests on today's program. That wraps us up, but join us again for another edition of Cracker Croakers.