Regulators and policymakers are increasingly involved in making important decisions about the governance of automated vehicles (AVs). Policymakers need to design comprehensive policies to deliver the benefits of AVs and to foresee and address potential unintended consequences; however, this is not an easy task. Especially given the complexity of the technology, AVs require a sophisticated analysis: beyond the apparent safety and security issues, AVs have significant potential to a ect issues related to privacy, accessibility, the environment, and land management.
Understanding and balancing the potential benefits of AVs against their challenges would help with the problem of delivering comprehensive policies on AVs. In addition, leveraging governments’ strengths and identifying their weaknesses would help also with the problem of delivering more effective AV policies, influencing the ways in which this technology is adopted, and at what pace.
This policy primer explores governments’ most relevant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in relation to AVs in the form of a SWOT analysis, which may expand policymakers’ governance toolbox and help them design comprehensive policies to proactively address the unintended consequences of AVs. It intends to inform regulators and policymakers, bridging information asymmetries between policymakers and technologists. It also aims at expanding policymakers’ governance toolbox to help them create more effective policies and regulations.