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Explore every episode of the podcast There Auto Be A Law

Dive into the complete episode list for There Auto Be A Law. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Missy Cummings: Insights into Self-Driving Tech and Safety09 Jan 202500:55:41

This week we are joined by Missy Cummings, Director of George Mason University's Autonomy and Robotics Center. Missy walks us through the safety concerns with self driving cars based on your research, talks about the definition of 'safe enough', how laughable remote operations are and lack of functional safety testing.

This episode underscores the urgent need for both state and federal regulations to improve safety standards and accountability for autonomous vehicles.

Links

Waymo, Whistleblowers, and the Return of Bench Seats19 Dec 202401:03:36

NHTSA is wrapping up the new year with new rules for whistleblowers, event data recorders and seatbelt warnings. Waymo is the highlight for the 'Gaslight of the Week' due to misleading safety certifications for its autonomous vehicle program. Donald Trump is likely to scrap a rule on crash reporting for autonomous vehicles. Bench seats might be coming back. And recent automotive recalls and potential cybersecurity threats associated with software-defined vehicles.

Tesla: Autonomous Revolution, Illusion or Delusion?17 Oct 202400:58:50

This week we debunk Elon Musk’s grandiose claims about Tesla's Robo Taxi, highlighting regulatory and safety hurdles, and the inflated value of Tesla’s stock driven by speculative products. Regulators can't seem to keep up with the new safety needs of autonomous vehicles and Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2X) but Gatik AI is making an effort by adopting UL4600. The EU states the obvious - the CyberTruck is for people that don't care about people and recall roundup.

This weeks links:

UL 460026 Jan 202300:57:44

This week we are joined by Deb Prince. She is the chairperson of the UL 4600 group and program at Underwriters Laboratories.

As astute listeners will remember UL 4600 is the Standard for Safety for the Evaluation of Autonomous Products such as automated cars. Those Waymo and GM Cruise things that keep us entertained. If you want to be well informed like Fred you <a href="https://www.shopulstandards.com/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=UL4600_2_S_20220315">can get a copy here of UL 4600 online</a>.

Want to learn more about deer strikes? Read the Washington Post article, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/01/20/deer-car-collisions/">Fear the deer: Crash data illuminates America’s deadliest animal</a>.

Motorcyles are cool?19 Jan 202301:02:53

A 17 year old special guests tells us why he wants a motorcycle, Fred explains physics to him and explains airbags to us. Plus Tesla is full of self driving.

Edge Case Research12 Jan 202300:56:25

This week we are joined by Mike Wagner and Ben Lewis from Edge Case Research.

They are working on making AV's safer and providing insurance to AV companies.

Off a cliff with some new car smell05 Jan 202300:53:31

A Tesla survives a 250 cliff drop but still lies about full self driving, Anthony invents the car bidet, Fred explains exactly what that new car smell is and Michael has audio problems. Plus recall roundup

New Years Resolutions29 Dec 202200:54:28

For the end of the year Michael Brooks runs down his list of new year resolutions... for others. In the new year we hope NHTSA becomes stronger, Tesla gets a new CEO, AV companies stop with the BS and Lucid learns to make a car.

It's not too late to make a tax deductible contribution.

Brake check this episode!22 Dec 202200:56:24

Child labor at Hyundai, more Waymo and Cruise teenage years, Tesla forces arbitration on it's customers, Fred explains Santa, synthetic gasoline and the Recall Roundup.

Too much fake shift15 Dec 202200:49:18

Lexus and Hyundai are into fake shift, IIHS updates their crash test for EV's and back seat safety, Michael and Fred suggest that infrastructure can make us safer, people get high in order to drive drunk, another Takata death and recall roundup.

Please support us if you can.

You down with ODD? With Beth Osyk08 Dec 202200:57:20

Beth Osyk expert in autonomous vehicles join us this week... to disappoint Anthony and let him know self driving cars are not coming soon. Plus recall roundup.

Donate

For $15,000 you can make everyone a test subject01 Dec 202200:59:07

Full Self Driving is not a thing. Don't believe that it is. If you've paid for such a thing please please please keep remain an active and engaged driver. You could save your own life as well as those of others around you.

Takata airbags are still in millions of vehicles. Go to our Vehicle Safety Check and see if your car has a recall.

Plus Fred explains "dinosaur chips" and Roundup Recall.

And please donate if you can.

My other car is a grenade17 Nov 202200:57:31

Grown man volunteers to beta test "self driving car", supercruise expands, driver monitoring explained, AEB works, recall roundup covers more rear view camera issues, car lights too bright, another bus accident where seat-belts are not required and when it comes to full self driving who's at fault, the person or the car?

autosafety.org/donate

Robo Rides and Recall Realities10 Oct 202401:11:17

Big thank you to Janette Fennell from Kids and Cars Safety for sending us some cool swag.

This weeks topics include:

  • Tesla's controversial full self-driving claims;
  • Regulatory issues surrounding autonomous vehicles;
  • Self-certification in vehicle crash testing;
  • A Fisker recall update;
  • When/why do vehicles get crash tested;
  • The New York legal loopholes in drug-impaired driving;
  • Recalls and more...

Links:

One man's swerve is another man's lane change10 Nov 202201:05:23

Immobilizers! Not required but a really good idea.

Why can't it be a camera instead of a mirror?

The car obesity race... more weight equals bigger crashes.

Good use case for autonomous vehicles and self driving semi's.

Fred explains voltage, current and power by having Anthony stand underneath Niagara Falls.

autosafety.org/donate

Full Self Driving & Auto Pilot: What are things we call lies?03 Nov 202200:54:45

Tesla gets investigated by the DOJ. Does NHTSA consider autopilot a defect? For our .001% listeners there is an important recall of your Lamborghini SUV. Fred updates on sarin in EV fires and explains SAE. Plus listener mail.

www.autosafety.org/donate

Lidar, Sonar, Radar no Klinger27 Oct 202200:59:43

Potential regulation for big hoods and grills, speed limiting technology, Florida Man and salt bridges update, too many people ignore school bus stop signs, the Tao of Fred and listener mail.

Be sure to tell your friends and support us.

Giant googly eyes and safety me oh my's20 Oct 202200:58:18

California approves digital license plates, automated driving deaths increase, what's going on with Automatic Emergency Braking and Sensor Fusion (not a prog rock band). Plus we'd really love it if NHTSA started some regulations around AEB, automated driving and well, any auto tech from the last 20 years.

Help us continue and become a supporter.

Big cars keep getting bigger13 Oct 202200:51:24

Regulations encourage manufacturers to build bigger cars, Michael coins his own acronym, iPhones get car sick on roller coasters, the media blows the Rivian recall out of proportion, Fred explores the energy and cost efficiency of EV's vs. ICE and Florida man makes wild claim about EV's and hurricanes.

Visit autosafety.org/donate

Artifical Intelligence and a billion cow database06 Oct 202200:52:33

Is AI, artificial intelligence, the future of a safe automobiles or a bunch of marketing mumbo jumbo. Plus leaks dominate this weeks Recall Roundup.

Some enchanted episode and GM can't Cruise29 Sep 202200:48:25

Michael's life of getting caught speeding as a 15 year old led him to become Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety

Autonomadness - a new segment about the madness of self driving cars. This week GM Cruise can't cruise. Self driving vehicles and their existential crisis's.

Recall Roundup discusses a software update that disables your speedometer and more.

In the Tao of Fred, Fred channels his inner Rogers and Hammerstein to educate us about OEDR.

Are you a pedestrian or a cyclist? Don't want to get hit by a car? Download an app. Plus listener mail on adaptive cruise control.

Automated Vehicle expert Phillip Koopman22 Sep 202201:03:41

AV expert and Carnegie Mellon professor Phil Koopman joins us to discuss his new book, "How Safe Is Safe Enough?: Measuring and Predicting Autonomous Vehicle Safety" Plus the Tao of Fred enlightens us, and puts Anthony to sleep, explaining Minimal Risk Condition.

Fast cars, easy to steal cars and 'merica!15 Sep 202201:02:18

Why sell cars that can go 130mph? Because you never know when you'll need to race away from a forest fire while being chased by a wolf.

NHTSA releases their cybersecurity report which has no teeth and lacks flavor. Plus recall round and Fred's felonies.

Who's hailing driverless cabs?08 Sep 202200:45:30

Anthony auditions for Andy Rooney's old job, Michael explains how airbags need to be folded correctly and Fred explains how ADS is not ADAS. Plus level 4 cars don't exist but GM Cruise and Waymo are maybe, sort of, kind of level 4 and motorcycles are not crash tested.

Full Self Driving leads to Dangerous Complacency03 Oct 202401:09:35

Hello listener. Here are some highlights from this weeks episode:

  • NHTSA is making GM Cruise submit a report of it's software updates every 90 days. Anthony suggests NHTSA ask for the commit logs and other developer documentation so they don't get gaslit.
  • Tesla's FSD requires a human to do the full self driving part.
  • Consumer Reports looks at the CyberTruck and they think visibility sucks.
  • Kia gets hacked and provides a good example of bad cybersecurity in the auto space.
  • Fred explains latency and it's got nothing to do with lace or lattes.
  • plus recalls and more

This weeks links:

Ejection mitigation or inconsequential noncompliance 01 Sep 202200:46:57

Fred makes some assumptions about how Anthony acquired a drivers license, we follow up on V2X in NY, self driving vehicles should be required to take a road test, recall roundup and more.

Reckless pandemic driving25 Aug 202200:46:37

Did the pandemic make drivers more reckless? Getting the finger because 70mph is too slow, Do you like the thrill of imminent death? Try full self driving. These topics and more along with listener mail.

Is it a car or a computer with wheels?18 Aug 202200:50:59

The dangers and benefits of over the air software updates, regression testing, Tesla's crashing into emergency vehicles and listener mail.

Woe the Ferrari driver and black boxes in cars11 Aug 202200:48:21

Fred explains how the nanny state and the viscosity of brake fluid are conspiring against us. Then we have an intelligent discussion about event data recorders (aka black boxes) in our cars. Tell us your thoughts on black boxes in cars.

Rats ate my car! And the dangers of giant SUVs04 Aug 202200:40:05

Rats and rodents are eating the electrical wires in cars. Is it the soy based insulation? The spray from that sweet nectar anti-freeze? Or are rats always gonna rat?

Additionally, we discuss the dangers of SUV frontover blind zones. It's a horrible design flaw that leads to injury and death that can be easily fixed.

AEB, this is not a system to rely on.28 Jul 202200:32:02

Automatic Emergency Braking, another system without any standards but it's a good thing, phantom braking, never drive on the George Washington Bridge and Michael is the worst salesperson.

Electro explosive subsystems21 Jul 202200:33:38

Do you suffer from pretensioner? Anthony learns about more "explosive" things in cars, Michael explains the absurdity of geographic recalls, Fred helps NHSTA and simultaneously creates the best band names.

Please wait while your car updates14 Jul 202200:35:02

This week we take on:

  • Big Phone and how it's affecting vehicle safety;

  • Car makers turning features into subscriptions;

  • Cars being unregulated computers;

Levels of self driving cars and liability07 Jul 202200:41:27

Level 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of self driving cars explained. European auto standards, Anthony complains about headlights and Michael reviews the podcast as being OK.

What's a NHTSA and other acronyms explained.30 Jun 202200:29:54

This week we break down the alphabet soup of auto safety and discuss the gender ratios of crash test dummies.

Driving Concerns: Chinese Software in American Cars26 Sep 202401:08:59

Highlights:

  • The Biden administration's policy on limiting Chinese and Russian vehicle technology to protect U.S. data, and the general challenges in tracing vehicle components' origins.
  • The DHS warns about counterfeit airbags.
  • Anthony calls BS on Sam Altman
  • Michael tells CarMax they are responsible for recalls
  • Fred points out flaws in Torc Robotics and explains GPS

This weeks links:

Cars on fire and maybe it's safer to walk22 Jun 202200:45:04

Welcome to the first episode of the Center for Auto Safety podcast. This week Anthony asks whether electric vehicles catch on fire more than ICE vehicles, Fred tells us that manufacturers can use anything in airbag propellants and Michael lets us know that there are little regulations around batteries. Gulp.

Episode 8 rerun - woe the Ferrari owners24 Nov 202200:48:49

We're off this week because of the holiday. Be safe traveling on the roads and enjoy this episode where delve into black boxes in cars.

If you can, please support us.

Safety on Autopilot: The Pitfalls and Promises of Partial Automation19 Sep 202401:06:15

Waymo goes full PR campaign and gets some "journalists" to write that Waymo is safer than a human... without explaining that Waymo's data is like comparing apples to astronauts. Basically, Waymo is better than the worst human drivers on small subset of roads, at slow speeds in limited conditions. Maybe.

IIHS releases a study showing that partial automation is, at best, partially beneficial, DC doesn't enforcement traffic camera tickets, Fred explains 4 wheel drive. a Tesla semi catches on fire and Fisker tries to get out of paying for a recall.

This weeks links:

Speed Limits, Safety Standards, and Autonomous Vehicles12 Sep 202401:02:49

We start off this week with California's proposed Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) bill, which aims to warn drivers exceeding speed limits by 10 mph. Next is NHTSA's new safety standards for pedestrian protection and other auto safety innovations. Then, we critique unrealistic claims about autonomous vehicles and highlight a recent investigation into Jeep vehicles catching fire.

This weeks links:

Big Cars, Bigger Problems and Driverless Dangers05 Sep 202400:56:35

Finally, a congressional bill aimed at setting federal standards for hood height and visibility to protect pedestrians. Another failure of partial automation systems like Ford's Blue Cruise and Tesla's Autopilot. Anthony let's loose on the NY Times, Amazon is using bad tech to monitor it's drivers and the recalls galore.

This weeks links:

Data-driven Insights with QuantivRisk’s Mike Nelson29 Aug 202401:04:32

This week we are joined by Mike Nelson, chair and founder of QuantivRisk, a risk management and technology company. The discussion focuses on QuantivRisk's innovative approach to analyzing vehicle data and video to objectively assess automotive accidents. This episode covers the challenges of defining and litigating safety in the context of ADAS and autonomous vehicles, particularly the complexity involved in evaluating AI decisions during accidents.

This weeks links:

What's leaking under the hood? V2X, Recalls, and Safety.22 Aug 202401:08:04
  • A follow up on honking Waymo's
  • Will V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) happen?.
  • The Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium lacks consumer and academic vetting in their recommendations for automated vehicle safety.
  • Software stress testing
  • Recalls from Ford and BMW

This weeks links:

The Great Parking Lot Honk-Off: Autonomous Cars Gone Wild15 Aug 202401:07:48

Welcome to the chaos of self-driving Waymo vehicles in San Francisco, Elon Musk's questionable promises on robo taxis, and the potential dangers of autonomous vehicles on highways. We question the AV industry's adherence to ethical practices and discuss the severe consequences of failing lithium-ion batteries. Plus recalls. And get your Takata airbag replaced.

This weeks links:

Cruise runs out of juice and car jackers need to check the backseat12 Dec 202400:59:55

GM finally listened to us and/or did some basic math and realized that GM Cruise was a dumpster fire that needed to be extinguished. Imagine what they could have done with the $10 Billion they squandered.

A recent AAA survey covers risky driver behaviors and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's findings that vehicle height increases pedestrian injury severity. Consumer Reports' reliability and owner satisfaction surveys show that Rivians are unreliable but make their owners happy. And troubling statistics from Kids in Car Safety about cars stolen with children inside.

Join the Fight for Safer Cars!

Links

Driving the Future: The Rocky Road of Autonomous Vehicles08 Aug 202401:04:26

Hey Listeners,

How do we feel about bullet points? This week we cover topics like...

  • Update on the ARC airbag recall implicating 50 million airbags with defects, leading to potential ruptures;
  • Tesla's reporting on Autopilot crashes and the WSJ's great investigation;
  • Data privacy issues with car companies like GM, who sell user driving data.;
  • The financial math behind the autonomous vehicle industry;
  • Recalls and more;

This weeks links:

Navigating the Future: Autonomous Cars, Safety Regulations, and Consumer Trust25 Jul 202401:09:26

The dangers of capacitive controls, seatback safety standards, the nonsense spewing from Elon Musk, the FCC toying with us over V2X and GM Cruise continues to gaslight General Motors. Plus we discuss the importance of robust software testing.

This weeks links:

A Dive into Automotive Safety with Dr. Jonathan Gitlin18 Jul 202401:03:37

Dr. Jonathan Gitlin, senior automotive writer for Ars Technica, joins us this week. Jonathan discusses his career shift, passion for cars, and his experiences test-driving numerous vehicles. This week we delve into the efficacy and ethics of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), Tesla's self-driving claims, and challenges within urban transportation infrastructures.

This weeks links:

Robo-Taxis, Tesla Troubles, and the Path to Safer Roads11 Jul 202401:03:49

This week we cover recent controversies surrounding Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology, revealing how manual interventions and YouTuber feedback fuel the myth of advanced AI automation and into the broader issues of automotive safety, discussing open-source software's pitfalls and the potential cybersecurity risks in modern vehicles. Other highlights include varied recalls from manufacturers like GM, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and Lucid.

Links:

Rerun - Backseat safety with Dr. Emily Thomas of Consumer Reports01 Aug 202401:03:47

We're off this week. This is repeat of an episode that a lot of people missed. It's a good one. Don't miss. Or any episodes.

https://www.autosafety.org/support-us/

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