NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind Tackles Technology Revolution In Automotive, from Forbes.
Mark R. Rosekind has taken the helm of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at a critical juncture for the federal agency. Not only did he fill the role of NHTSA Administratorin the midst of the massive GM ignition-switch and Takata airbagrecalls, but also at a time when technology is quickly transforming automotive.
The car industry is facing enormous changes due to innovations ranging from autonomous driving to vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and these will also have a profound influence on NHTSA’s main priority of ensuring vehicles are safe and reducing traffic deaths. As a former NASA scientist and member of the National Transportation Safety Board, Rosekind is well versed in the effects technology will have in reshaping passenger vehicles in the years ahead and how to prepare NHTSA to deal with the disruptions that are just down the road.
Rosekind gave a glimpse of how NHTSA will handle this rapid pace of change and how technology can help the agency fulfill its focus on saving lives while delivering the keynote address at the second-annual Connected Car Pavilion produced by the C3 Group in Austin, Texas during SXSW last week. “We’re here in Austin today to discuss how technology possesses a huge potential in offsetting the human behaviors that are responsible for a vast majority of the deaths happening on our highways,” Rosekind said. “Anyone at NHTSA can tell you by heart that 32,719 people lost their lives on U.S. roadways in 2013, each one of which was preventable.The safety technology and innovation here at the Connected Car Pavilion can help us address that grim statistic.”
