From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Oversight of Automated Technology in Transportation Description: Transportation--whether it's planes, trains, boats or cars--is becoming more automated. While automated technology holds promise--such as improving your ability to parallel park--recent accidents caused by automated technology have demonstrated its potential safety challenges. How is this technology being monitored to ensure it is safe? We talk to GAO's Heather Krause to learn more. Related GAO Work: GAO-21-197 Automated Technologies: DOT Should Take Steps to Ensure Its Workforce Has Skills Needed to Oversee Safety Released: December 2020 [Heather Krause:] DOT has taken some steps to assess its workforce skills and needs. But there is more they could do to ensure that automated technologies are safe. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Holly Hobbs. Transportation--whether it's planes, trains, boats or cars--is becoming more automated. And while automated technology holds promise--such as improving your ability to parallel park--recent accidents caused by automated technology have demonstrated its potential safety challenges. So, how is this technology being monitored to ensure it's safe? Today, we talk to Heather Krause, an expert on transportation technology and a director in our Physical Infrastructure Team, about her new report on the oversight of automated technology and transportation. Thank you for joining us, Heather. [Heather Krause:] Thank you for having me. [Holly Hobbs:] So, Heather, what kinds of accidents have occurred using automated technology? Can you give us some examples? [Heather Krause:] Yeah, there has been some attention on accidents involving passenger vehicles, which the National Transportation Safety Board has investigated. So, for example, there was a crash in 2018 involving a vehicle that was testing a highly automated driving system. The system failed to recognize the pedestrian on the side of the road. And during the test, the driver failed to resume control of the vehicle in time to avoid hitting that pedestrian, who ended up being killed in the accident. And there was also another crash in 2018 involving a vehicle with an advanced driver-assistance system. It was found that that driver was not paying attention when the system was engaged, which led to a crash and the driver being killed. [Holly Hobbs:] But it's not all bad things, right? What are some of the benefits of automated technology? [Heather Krause:] There are lots of benefits to automated technologies in transportation. They can increase safety by reducing human error, which has been a large driver of the vehicle crashes. They can also have the potential to reduce congestion and increase mobility. We've seen automated technologies also play a role in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, drones have been used to deliver PPE and medical supplies to hospitals. [Holly Hobbs:] And do we know how broadly automated technology is being used--not just in cars, but in other forms of transportation? [Heather Krause:] Yeah, there are many uses of these technologies throughout the transportation system, ranging from trains, airplanes, and passenger vehicles. So, to give you a flavor of some of the ones that are currently in use--you have the driver assistance technologies in passenger vehicles. Those technologies can control the steering or the speed or things like lane assistance. In the area of trains, we have the positive train control, which automatically slows or stops a train in certain cases when it's not being operated safely. And then also you have the unmanned aircraft systems or drones. And they're used in photography, inspection, and lots of other activities. And throughout all those different modes, there are higher levels of automation being tested and developed, such as fully automated vehicles and trains, and then drones that can one day transport people. [Holly Hobbs:] And given how broadly automated technology is being used and some of the safety concerns, who's responsible for overseeing this technology? [Heather Krause:] The Department of Transportation, or DOT, oversees the safety of these technologies in all modes of transportation. DOT's workforce, which includes 55,000 employees--such as engineers, safety specialists, attorneys, and inspectors--are responsible for ensuring that transportation technologies are safe and work as intended. [Holly Hobbs:] So, how does DOT know that its workforce has the skills to oversee automated technology? [Heather Krause:] For our work, we found that DOT has identified the skills needed to oversee automated technologies--so the kinds of skills like regulatory expertise, as well as engineering, cybersecurity and data analysis. But it hasn't fully assessed whether its workforce has these skills. So, in particular, every 3 to 4 years, DOT surveys its workforce to assess their skill levels and identifies any gaps in those skills. We found that in the last completed assessment, DOT did not survey or assess skill gaps in data analysis or cybersecurity positions--both of which are important to automated technology oversight. So, what this means is they don't know what gaps their staff might have in these skills. We also found that while DOT has efforts to address skill gaps, such as recruiting and training, it hasn't targeted those efforts to skills needed to oversee automated technologies or ensure that appropriate training was offered. So, in other words, there may be staff who need training in related skills, but haven't received it. [ Music ] [Holly Hobbs:] So, it sounds like the use of automated technology in transportation is here to stay and will continue to grow. And that the Department of Transportation is responsible for ensuring this technology is safe and works as it's intended to. But that DOT's workforce, which oversees this technology, may not have all the skills it needs to do so. Heather, do we make any recommendations to help DOT address any skill gaps in its workforce and improve its oversight? [Heather Krause:] Yes, we made four recommendations that could help improve DOT's oversight of automated technologies. For example, DOT should survey all staff in fields related to overseeing the safety of automated technologies; and that DOT should offer appropriate training to ensure staff have the needed skills. [Holly Hobbs:] And last question, Heather. What's the bottom line of this report? [Heather Krause:] DOT has taken some steps to assess its workforce skills and needs. But there is more they could do to equip their staff with the skills and expertise needed to ensure that automated technologies are safe. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Heather Krause talking about GAO's new report on the use and safety of automated technology in transportation. Thank you for your time, Heather. [Heather Krause:] Thank you. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. And make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the Congressional Watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at gao.gov.