Call for Ideas: Developing Autonomous Vehicles for People with Disabilities

The Department of Labor via ePolicyWorks online invites you to collaborate with them! This ePolicyWorks online dialogue explores how autonomous vehicles (a.k.a. "self-driving cars" or "driverless cars") can be leveraged to expand access to competitive, integrated jobs for people with disabilities and what issues policymakers should consider when developing legislation, regulations, or other policies that govern autonomous vehicles... click here to read more.

Here's how to get started:

1. Read the instructions here.

2. Register on their site to share your ideas about the accessibility of autonomous vehicles.

• How does access to transportation affect employment opportunities for those with disabilities today?
• What is needed to ensure that autonomous vehicles are accessible and affordable to those with disabilities? Comments can focus on vehicle design, human-machine interface requirements, or other general thoughts on topic.
• Autonomous vehicles may change the entire system of transportation. What broader design elements should we begin thinking about in terms of infrastructure, or the needs around summoning or distributing fleets of autonomous vehicles?

3. Vote on user-submitted ideas about the accessibility of autonomous vehicles.

4. Join them for a Twitter chat “#EPWChat — Autonomous Vehicles: Driving Employment for People with Disabilities,” on October 20 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET. This interactive conversation, co-hosted with Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE), will feature special guests Amitai Bin-Nun, SAFE’s Vice President of Autonomous Vehicles and Mobility Innovation; Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind; and Kent Keyser, Policy Fellow, United Spinal Association. Through this event, ePolicyWorks is seeking to gather insights on transportation technologies such as autonomous vehicles (AV) and how they can best serve to increase workplace participation for the disability community. Participants can join this real-time Twitter conversation by following and tagging their posts with the hashtag #EPWChat. This chat is being held in tandem with the ePolicyWorks online dialogue, “Autonomous Vehicles: Driving Employment for People with Disabilities” that runs from October 10 to October 20.