A consortium of Canadian automotive and technology companies on Tuesday announced the creation of a nonprofit coalition to help inform the public and policymakers about the potential and the reality of automated-vehicle technologies and self-driving vehicles.
Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) Canada counts Audi Canada, Toyota Canada and BlackBerry among its 13 members.
“PAVE Canada's members come from a wide variety of interests, but our diverse group shares two key beliefs: that automated vehicles offer great potential to society, and that we won't achieve that potential without a well-informed public that understands the technology,” PAVE Executive Director Tara Andringa said in a statement. “We work to provide hype-free facts to the public so that everyone can participate in the conversation about the future of transportation.”
Andringa has ties in the automotive policy sector, especially in the United States. She was the longtime communications director for the late Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who was a fierce champion of his state’s automobile industry.
PAVE Canada will engage in what it calls “broad activities to help raise the level of public understanding of AV technology.” During its first year, PAVE Canada will:
- Commission a public opinion survey to establish baselines of public knowledge of automated vehicle technology;
- Develop a social media campaign, based on the results of the survey, that addresses the gaps in knowledge and conveys facts about AV technology; and
- Produce what it describes as “hype-free educational materials” to help raise the level of knowledge about AV technology and its potential.
PAVE Canada is a new arm of PAVE, which launched in the United States in 2019. It also has a European chapter.
The coalition is supported by a road safety grant from Transport Canada.
