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the subcommittee will come to order. today the for surface transportation, maritime freight and ports will examine the crisis and the solutions that we must implement in response.

like to thank my ranking remember for their help in cop screening this important hearing. every day more than 100 americans lose their lives on our roads. if trends continue we expect more than 40,000 fatalities thisear.hundreds of thousands o serious injuries. thousands of families are going to be torn apart by preventable crashes. those families deserve our recognition as we work to address this problem. that's why i'd like to enter into the record statements made by victims families who have written to this committee to urge further action on roadway safety. without objection those letters will be entered into the record. i also dedicate today's discussion to them as these families know all too well the safety situation on our roads

constitutes a national crisis. in 2021 the national highway safety traffic administration estimated the u.s. had the highest number of fatalities since 2005. unfortunately the trend has not significantly improved over the past two years. according to most recent estimates, roadway deaths remain elevated with only 3% reduction in 2023. these numbers do not reflect the harm done to our drivers and passengers but also vulnerle pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. overrepresented in these tragedies are black, hispanic and native americans, as well as americans living in rural areas. we need a strong and comprehensive response and today we'll discuss a holistic, safe systems approach to addressing the roadway safety crisis and how we can implement that approach all across our

country. the safe systems approach ensures that all aspects of our readways account for inevitable human error. it emphasized building multiple layers of protection so that even when mistakes are made, death and injury are unlikely. this framework focuses on five key categories. safer people and behaviors. safer ve safer speeds. safer roads and improving the post crash care. i believe emerging technologies are going to play an important role in this endeavor. essential to achieving safe goals. the safe and accountability development, testing and employment of autonomous vehicles which can help us reduce serious injuries and death on our roadways.

i expect our witnesse discuss the principles and data behind the safe systems approach as well as how we can better support communities. we have already made important progress. congress took one key step towards supporting roadway safety with a passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law 2021. the law provides five billion dollars in safe streets for grants for local, regional and tribal ies to prevent roadway deaths and injuries. and reires measure their success along the way. the bipartisan infrastructure law is also the first piece of legislation to establish requirements for complete street standards. these ensure that our roadways can safely accommodate all traffic, that includes vulnerable road users like pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and people with disabilities as well as the

elderly. and finally, with the help of michigander taylor the law included honoring the abas family legacy. requirement for the inclusion of impaired driving prevention technology in our vehicles. today we will learn more about the challenges and the opportunities these provisions are opposing for communities on the ground. but the bipartisan infrastructure law was just the beginning. there's so much more we can and we must do in order to address this crisis. our witnesses will also help us examine what solutions need to come next. i would like to thank each of you for being here today and for the expertise you're going to share with this committee and for all you do each and every day to make our streets and our highways safer. now invite ranking member young for any opening remarks you

have. >> ll thank you, mr. chairman. and i want to thank all of our witnesses for joining us today to discuss a topic of paramount importance. roadway safety in the united states. today i want to highlight our nation's alarming roadway fatality and crash statistics, discuss the significance of innovation and enhancing roadway safety and call attention to the important role that tried and true infrastructure investments play in keeping our roads safe. every year thousands of lives are tragically cut short due to vehicle crashes. in 2023 alone nearly 41,000 people lost their on american roads. this statistic is not just a number, it represents parents, children, friends and colleagues whose absence leave as void in their families and communities. additionally millions of crashes occur annually, leading

to severe injuries and substantial economic losses. these staggering figures underscore the urgent need for innovative solutions to make our roads safer. if we all come together in a bipartisan basis to prioritize human lives over political and parochial interests we can leverage technology to create safer roadways for everyone. one of the most promising areas of technological innovation lies in the development of autonomous vehicles. which is the potential to revolutionize roadway safety. unlike human drivers, autonomous vehicles do not get distracted, tired or impaired. they can react to hazards more quickly and make split second decisions based on vast amounts of data that no human could process. widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles could reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90%, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives each year

in the united states. it's a tangible solution that can transform how we think about road safety and massively reduce the number of deaths on our roads every year. however the benefits of innovation extend beyond autonomous vehicles. smart infrastructures and other critical component of a safer transportation ecosystem. intelligent traffic signals can adjust in real time to traffic conditions, reducing congestion and minimizing the likelihood of accidents. connected vehicle technology allows cars to communicate with each other and with infrastructure, providing drivers with real time information about road conditions, hazards and traffic patterns. this interconnected network can significantly enhance situational awareness and reduce the risk of collisions. further more, public education and awareness campaigns are cv

essential to ensuring that drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users can understand and embrace these new technologies. public acceptance and trust are crucial for the successful integration of innovative solutions into our daily lives. public awareness and education efforts are vital to addressing long standing roadway safety issues in a cost effective way. not the least of which is one that any parent should be extremely concerned about and that is school bus safety. specifically related school bus passings. school bus safety should be at the top of our list when it comes to roadway safety and unfortunately it hasn't received the attention it deserves. estimates n 43 million violations occur during every 180 day school year. my stop for school buses act which chairman peters co-led with me was signed into law in

2021 and directed the department of transportation to review illegal passing laws and potential technological solutions. along with developing a public safety messaging campaign. with all of these things said, public safety campaigns and technological innovation on their own are not enough. we just also focus on improving our roadway infrastructure to improve safety. this includes maintaining road quality and focusing federal funding to -- focused federal funding to and private funding infrastructure projects that will vastly improve roadway safety. 97 miles of public roadways. hoosiers rely on transportation infrastructure. in evansville, indiana i've been working hard for years to secure federal funding for the i-69 ohio river crossing project to fill a crucial gap in the nation's transportation infrastructure as it links i-69

between indiana and kentucky this type of project which will mitigate traffic congestion, improve roadway safety and significantly leverage nonfederal dollars is where federal infrastructure dollars should be focused. while the statistics on roadway fatalities and crashes are alarming, they also serve a powerful motivator for change. by embracing technological innovation and investing in our infrastructure, we have the opportunity to significantly improve roadway safety in the united states. autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure and infrastructure investments hold potential to save lives and prevent injuries. let us commit to supporting an all of the above approach to advancing roadway safety innovations working together to create safer roads for everyone. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, ranking member young. we're joined by the ranking member of the full committee.

senator cruz. >> thank you, mr. chairman. last year 40,990 people died on roads in the united states. i expect that we will hear that number multiple times today. and that's because it's a tragic number, especially for all of those who lost loved ones. there are many reasons that go into this. one of which is lack of adequate infrastructure. lack of sufficient freeways. lack of sufficient space that creates more traffic. unfortunately the biden administration has consistently failed to prioritize new freeways, has consistent priori infrastructure and instead the biden administration has allowed itself to be distracted by political pet projects. things like bike lanes. things like the allegation that there are racist roads we need

to be worried about. instead of focusing on the important task of building more roads. on this committee i'm proud to have led the way on multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation that have been signed into law to expand our critical infrastructure. passed unanimously and was signed into law. that interstate is critically needed throughout west texas, east texas and each of the states that i-14 will run through all the way to the atlantic ocean. likewise, i was the lead author of legislation designating i- 27. the ports to planes corridor.

that bill was introduced with another democrat, another member of this committee. i-27 will run from laredo, texas up north through west texas through the panhandle of texas into new mexico all the way up to canada. it will be a major artery for north south trade and commerce. likewise i was the lead author of legislation to build and expand four new bridges from south texas to mexico across the rio grande river. those bridges were being delayed by bureaucratic road blocks put up by the biden administration. repeatedly i went to the secretary of transportation to the secretary of state asked them to stop those bureaucratic road blocks. they refused to do so. every one of those projects was delayed three, four, five years until i authored legislation streamlining the permitting of that legislation -- of those

bridges.r another way is public safety. sadly we have seen democrats spend much of the past few years disparaging law enforcement and we're learning that less enforcemt traffic safety potentially leads to more traffic crashes. thatif you think the police are not going to enforce laws and people are going to be more likely to break the laws. ins today's hearing, mr. nelson notes that quote, rising traffic fatalities are correlated with drops in the

enforcement of life saving traffic laws and parts of the country have seen a decrease in citations by as much as 50% for dangerous activities like speeding or impaired driving. an article from october 2023 titled the decline in police traffic stops is killing people points out that cities like seattle, new york city and st. louis saw traffic stops decline and saw a significant increase in traffic fatalities. previous research has also drawn a link between declines in traffic enforcement and accidents. another notable issue is drugged driving. a 2022 research paper found from 2009 to 2019 let legalization of recreational marijuana was quote, associated with a 6.5% increase in injury crash and a 2.3% increase

in fatal crash rates. biden administration rather than working to keep our families safe on the roadways has instead di creed it will classify marijuana from a schedule one substance to schedule three. the american trucking association quickly followed this news with a letter highlighting that rescheduling marijuana without an explicit allowance for a test for its use would create confusion and result in quote, topics. >> our first witness is sam krassenstein. serves as the chief of infrastructure for the city of detroit. he is responsible for leading the city's infrastructure and transportation priorities. collaborating with state and federal partners. executing major projects and

overseeing grant funding. he has an mba and a masters in urban planning from the university of michigan. welcome, mr. krassenstein. please proceed. >> good afternoon. i'm humbled at the today at thi important hearing to represent the city of detroit and the state of michigan as a transportation official proud detroit resident, motoycther. i'm here because detroit has the unenviable position of high traffic fatality rate in and the third highest rate for pedestrians in the country. last year alone we lost 132 lives to traffic violence amidst the 40,990 people killed nationwide. our street network was built for a city of nearly two million people. almost three times our current population. like many nationwide, overbuilt streets creates the perfect scenario for speeding, ngerous driving and treacherous conditions for

our most vulnerable residents trying to catch the bus or cross the street on foot. we had an opportunity to make real change with new programs like safe streets for all. we've been extremely fortunate to receive two grants totaling $49.6 million across 2022 and 2023. systematic infrastructure improvements across 30 miles of roads. basically the roads with the highest rate of crashes resulting in it injuryes. many of these intersections are partially or under county or statrequired close collaboration to be able to apply. last hip with michigan d.o.t. we submitted another ssa request this time for a pilot for safety county measures.

the part within detroit is one of the most dangerous adways in the state for drivers and pedestrians alike. grashet is the perfect example. it's a nine lane surface arterial street that cuts through the heart of detroit's east side. the road design has been virtually unchanged since 1956 when streetcars stopped running. the posted speed is 30. we're discolonelled from completing a speed study as state law would be required to -- since 2017 this eight mile stretch of road has had 159 pedestrian or cyclist-involved crashes, 45 fatalities and nearly 1200 injury crashes. if these aren't the result of drunk drivers or people texting but the result of a road that no longer meets the needs of the population it claims to

serve. while it is also one of the busiest bus transit corridors, there are multiple sections that don't have as much as a marked crosswalk for at least half a mi after a long day at work and needs to get to their house in the neighborhood on the other side of the street, we're asking them to walk more than a mile to avoid crossing 100 feet at an unprotected location. 100 feet is wider than some sections of 395. unsurprisingly, people don't do this and take their lives into their hands on a daily basis. the data reflects this with 33 pedestrian fatalities or serious injuries occurring at these unsignallized and unmarked crossings. in spite of all this there's little irrelevant the city can do without our state d.o.t. since it's their road. weave been working to figure out a plan for roads only to be given outdated vehicle centric designcriteria, maintenance obligations and lack of funding as obstacle the preventing us from addressing the sobering number of crashes, injuries and

fatalities. while the program has created an opportunity for cities to seek funding to address safety challeeson larger corridors. its discuss is dependent on having the continued cooperation of state d.o.t.s and county road agencies that historically have done little to prioritize safety or funding and have little incredittive from the federal government to do so. there's more you can do to thi the updates to the manual for uniform on traffic control devices basically the bible for traffic design if yoacronym are a welcome start in building safer streets legislation have the potential to provide tremendous value to local governments making it easier to add safety elements to projects. as i close today, i to consider how many lives can be saved by funding programs like safe streets for all. it's critical to have dedicated safety funding that does not have to compete with

maintaining roads and bridges. we've gotten used to not treating streets as public spaces but only as ways to move traffic. if 40,90 people were killed annually in any other setting there would be public outrage and demand for an immediate change. we have normalized the traffic violence we have seen as accidents that just happen rather than crashes that can be avoided. we have a responsibility at all levels to change that and make these spaces safer for the people that use them. i appreciate the work of the subcommittee and the committee as a whole on this importt subject. thank you again for the opportunity to testify today on behalf of the city of detroit and local governments across the country. thank you. >> thank you, mr. krassenstein. our second witness is laura chase and she's president and o transportation society america. she currently serves as an advisorn't united states department of transportations transforming transportation advisory committee to help the department navigate how to

incorporate advanced technology into our transportation system. you may proceed with your opening remarks. >> thank you. thank you, peters, ranking member young, members of the subcommittee. i appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important y safet in addition to the roles that chairman peters just mentioned i'm also a mother of three children including two teenage drivers. the topic of transportation safety is near to my heart. in every facet of my life i see opportunities to make transportation safer so kids going to school, parents returning home and routine trip to the grocery store doesn't end in tragedy. its america is a nonprofit association which has been at the forefront of together government, industry and research to advance our vision after better future transformed by technology and innovation. one that is safer, greener and smarter for all. the status quo approach to addressing transportation safety is insufficient. doing the same thing we have al

incremental results. we need a mind set shift to address the more than 40,000 transportation fatalities each year. we need to embrace all of the above approach to improving safety on our roadways. these solutions including digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, automation are not just nice to have. they are essential to improving safety and achieving our goals of vision zero. the u.s. spends billions of dollars every year on transportation and infrastructure yet we don't see meaningful progress on lowering of the 673 billion in spending in the iiha, only $800 million was dedicated for technology deployment. even though technology investments can often provide more cost effective solutions. clearly the amount of funding

is inadequate. the u.s. also needs to adopt a proactive approach to improving safety. rather than the often standard approach of reacting been prevented. to be proactive we must move from focusing on physical assets such as roads, bridges, guardrails and speed bumps to harnessing the power of innovation, data and techlo to improve safety. fully deploying a layered approach of physical and digital infrastructure assets is the way we will achieve vision zero opportunity to proactively address safety in myriad inters and congested urban environments and in rural areas. digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence can recognize and predict dangerous conditions that were previously unidentified. helping road users and transportation agencies address these situations ahead of time. v to x communications provides more information about hazardous conditions around them or impending collisions

and key things beyond their line of sight. so it gives them more time to react and make better decisions and improve safety. automation is another proactive solution to enhance safety. technologies are responding to driver action or inaction to correct vehicle positioning, brake for pedestrians and more. technology can also make static infrastructure dynamic. such as changing speed limits in the event of congestion or adverse weather, or extending traffic signals in real time when a pedestrian's in a crosswalk and needs more time. technology can take us from a reactive system to a proactive system that addresses issues before they result in a death. the good news is we can do more today to integrate technology to ensure that these tools being developed here in the u.s. are also deployed here at home to improve safety. this includes finalizing u.s. d.o.t.'s deployment plan to help advance this life sang technology at speed and scale. it also includes prioritizing technology into the safety

systems approach, complete streets, the new other u.s. d.o policies and guidance and prioritizing technology deployment under other safe stride streets and roads for all. congress also has an opportunity to reim future of transportation technology when it reauthorizes surface transportation programs in 2026. this includes incorporating technology at every step in the process. from planning to construction to operations. and rethinking how we approach funding to procurement. o deployers need substantial and certain funding for technology beginning of a project's life cycle. we must also and best practice procuring new kinds of technology and software. american innovation continues to lead the world. we have the opportunity to harness this innovation in the communities where we live, work and play to realize better safety outcomes for all. as a mother i long for the day when i don't have to say to my children call me when you get

there safely. we can make that day a ity faster by leveraging technology in a more holistic way. thank you for the opportunity to appear today and i look forward to your questions. our third witness is jake nelson who serves as the 5- traffic safety advocacy and research director at the american automobile association. probably better known as aaa. mr. nelson applies research and the sciences of public health to aaa's public policy development, governmental advocacy and consumer activities. mr. nelson holds an undergraduate degree from the university of michigan. graduate degrees in public health and public policy from george washington university and the university of chicago. mr. nelson. welcome to the committee. you may proceed why your opening remarks. >> from the more detailed testimony submitted from the record. why the spike in highway deaths and what we can do about it.

here's what aaa research has uncovered about what's happening on roadways and to whom. since the pandemic and nonuse o safety belts account for most of the increase in traffic deaths. the post covid spike and fatalities has hit disadvantaged populations, particularly people with no education beyond high school and black and hispanic populations. urban deaths have increased. since 2013, 6rpedestrian deaths have increased 81% percent and urban areas and dropped 10% in rural areas. this shift in traffic mortality has happened mostly on urban and suburban are multilane lead high-volume roads designed to move vehicles in and out ofciti today they have people who live, rk

these roads. traffic deaths have spiked at the same time as behaviors of junk driving have dropped. labor shortages across the procession are important here. when apprehension for breaking laws drops, risky behaviors go up. most drivers reduce driving during the pandemic and a small proportion increased their driving and are riskier than ever. accounting for their age, gender, and how much they drive. drivers admit to engaging regularly in speeding, red light running and driving within an hour of using cannabis. a 24 percent increase in drunk driving. the bottom ne, visible enforcement of traffic laws

saves lives. we stand a much better chance of police enforcing laws with city support. what got us to this point will not move us to zero deaths. there are five key recommendations to move the needle. i will focus on three. first, support for law enforcement. congress can increase funding for states through section 1906 and establish a 3y÷mstandard of excellence for traffic enforcement. the limiting factor of guidance and technical support available to them to standardize, analyze, and interpret traffic and to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to address inequities illuminated by these dittos. we all benefit from making

traffic enforcement more equitable. using resources more efficiently and maximizing roads safety. number two, better coordination between state and local governments. wistate risk. aaa research that it jumps on roadways. stronger coordination will allow vocal road authorities to work on this spillover effect. number three, stronger congressional oversight over halt implementation. failed to issue a final rule by the deadline. congress can ensure that they have met the same deadline. once this pene passenger vehicle fleet, it will save 10,000 lives annually

making it the most effective safety countermeasure since the safety belt. aaa recognizes that the challenges in front of you are not easy. that is how the u.s. can sprint instead of crawl towards saving lives on the nation's roadways. thank you for the opportunity to testify. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, mr. nelson. the codirector of the university of north carolina highway safety research center serves as codirector for the iv science center for road safety whose mission is to advance transportation safety through a multidisciplinary systems-based approach. a phd in epidemiology from the school of global public health with a concentration on injury prevention and also holds a masters in regional planning

from uc chapel hill they focus in transportation and land use. you can begin with your opening remarks. >> thank you, chairman young and members of the committee. i am a codirector of the highway safety research center at chapel hill. with a background in transportation planning, my guiding light is to prevent roadway injuries and fatalities. it has been increasing since 2010. it creates significant problems for the community.

it depends on our peoples and falies arriving at their jobs and schools and returning safely to their homes and communities each day. roadway crashes are preventable. we have many available tools and practices that can be applied to improve safety. the safe system approach is one such practice. it focuses on five key ctives. safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer 9ispeeds, and post crash care peer in the safe system approach places eighth clear -- kinetic energy above human tolerance levels. it is an abstract term. we know it when we see pictures of vehicles torn in half from a t-bone crash. we know it when we see pedestrians knocked out of their shoes and thrown hundreds impact. we know a lot about how speed is playing a role in the road

safety crisis. the faster we drive, the more prone we become to making errors. the more time and distance we need to respond to a hazard and avoid a crash. we know the higher speeds with larger vehicles are a key factor behind the spike in fatalities that we are seeing among pedestrians, motorcyclists, and construction workers whose bodies are not designed to withstand impact speeds above 20 miles per hour. rhe church indicates that small changes in speed can improve safety for all road users significantly. that can cut the number of fatal crashes by 30% making a significant step towards our goal of zero. we have many established treatments that can help naturally cute drivers to adopt context appropriate speeds. there are ambitious speed management plans. progress is being made and there is a critical need to

build local capacity to enhance streamline delivery of management tools and ensure that safe and ap spee are baked into the roadway design and maintenance practices. opportunities exist for vehicle designs to help us reduce the kinetic energy in our system. intelligent speed adaptation are standard practices. we need to be ready and willing to apply global innovations to save lives in the u.s. as we improve safety plans and infrastructure and test out new technologies, we must invest in modernizing safety data systems. we cannot manage what we do not measure. we need data to be timely, accurate, accessible and complete. we must enhance the data requirements and standards, put in place sustained funding and establish clear performance

metrics related to speed management to show accountability in the implementation of safe systems. as we adopt new technologies, we need better data related to usage compliance and failures. to improve safety performance and public acceptance. we need a safer system in the u.s. where people can make mistakes and to be human and still make it home on our cus o energy as the root cause of roadway fatalities offers tremendous promise for a transportation system that is safe for all ages and abilities. researchers are positioned to support this work in collaboration with many partners dedicated to community safety and well-being. thank you for your time and leadership and i did welcome discussion on this critical issue. >> next is thechief executive

officer of the association. representing more than 20 of the leading companies developing autonomous vehicle technologies. good to have you at the committee here, you can proceed with opening remarks. >> chairman peters, it is an honor to testify today. a written testimony provides detail on the unacceptable number of fatalities and injuries on u.s. roads. i want to spend my time talking about solutions. how technology can address the roadway safety crisis. and aspiration for our country is now tonomous vehicles are he members have driven 70 million autonomous miles on u.s. public roads. 293 round trips to the moon. autonomous vehicles can play an important role in addressing roadway safety. the country has hit a wall built on human behavior. like speeding and distracted these errors are the cause of

40,000 deaths on the roads. ev's do not enga any of these behaviors. what are we referring to when we say autonomous vehicles. using driver assist vehicles that we see on the roads, the human driver must be engaged and take ■o■wov notice. with truly autonomous vehicles, the human has no responsibility for the driving task. a marriage between hardware and software and delivers sensitivities and capabilities and times beyond that of a human driver. giving the vehicle a 360 degree view to detect and react to objects and people when hidden due to other buildings and obstructions. how evs is developed to notice

vulnerable road users and respond to their unique behavior. we have been in situations where a pedestrian steps off a curb that was not visible or a motorcycle approach from behind and was undetected before it went by. imagine a world where vehicles do not have human limitations because they can see through objects in every direction. this is the promise of autonomous vehicles. the industry recognizes this is a new technology and we are stroly ■ycommitted to building public trust. public trust in evs is essential to their acceptance. last month, announced was a trust principal. transparent interactions with the government and officials. and upholding ■ythe highest cyb security and privacy standards. autonomous vehicles are an

american success story. our country can and must lead on this area globally. we need the support of policymakers. i want to turn to a couple of policy recommendations that will help industry address the roadway safety crisis. federal leadership is imperative. competitor countries are moving forward with policy frameworks. and taking the lead on ev policy. 25 statutes and are welcoming the technology. i encourage federal action in a couple of areas. the ev start act. our industry is grateful to both senators for the long- standing leadership on ev policy and the recognition that the policy will make the roads safer. our organization was excited to out. vs specifically the working group encouraged committee action on a federal framework for the testing and m

transportation and this is for competitors in the chinese communist party. there is a strong interest for the department of transportation for how this can increase safety on american roads. we need action in key areas. ru the step program which was announced in july, 2023. they present an opportunity to reimagine how vehicles are designed and promote safety and accessibility. it will encourage deployment of next-generation vehicles and open up a wealth of data to make progress toward establishing an effective government structure. another example where d.o.t. should take immediate action is from granting the industry exemption request alalternative warning devices when a vehicle is stopped on the roadside.

i look forward to any questions you may have. >> i want to thank you for being here. and thank you for all of the great work that you are doing in the city of detroit. as you mentioned your opening comments. detroit has historically struggled with high number of roadway injuries and deaths among the black community. my question for you, can you speak to the importance of safe streets for all funding in terms of enabling various safety interventions that would not be possible? to how detroit addressing economic and racial disparities using this program? >> thank you for that question, chairman. for these first part of the

question, the program is vitally important for cities like detroit, within the city limits we have 3100 linear miles of road that are under the jurisdiction and the most dangerous roads are not. this gives us a funding stream that we do not have to worry about making hard choices between state of good repair and saving lives on ing to focus on safety on streets that have been overbuilt in detroiand have had many crashes and fatalities. to the second part of your question, chairman, how we address socioeconomic factors into this. the work that it comes to the roads that we paved. we will take an equity-based development teams looking at commercial core doors and the data as well.

we do try and take a balanced approach with how we make those types of investments throughout the city. >> thank you. in addition to serving as chthe founder and chair of the senate motorcycle will caucus. i am an avid motorcyclist myself and i share this with a number of my colleagues here■m. may is motorcycle safety month where we raise aware men of motorcycle fatalities. they perish at a rate 22 times that of motor vehicle occupants. what kind of technology and interventions are most likely to d other vulnerable road users and how can we get those up and running as quickly as possible? >> thank you for the question, chairman. probably the most effective technology would be these

technologies as you know, providing situational awareness to drivers of cars, motorcyclist, and other road users, to alert them, the drivers of impending collisions or hazards that go beyond their line of sight, so that drivers can make better decisions and avoid e safety on the roads. this is critical when you're talking about road users who do not have the protection of a vehicle. vehicle to everything technologies would be the top technology solutions. their technology solutions being developed by bmw that are very active in the motorcycle safety space with what we call digital alerting. alerting of other key information about the roadway conditions or weather.

things that would be a safety of life issue and can be critical information to a motorcyclist or cyclist. those solutions are those compa in addition, the association was a part of a larger coalition for many years now supporting scale deployment of these technologies so that we can protect drivers and motorcyclists, bicyclists, and other road users using lieve an support evs and i believe they can play a major role in achieving our goals of preventing roadway fatalities. in order for that to be the case, self driving vehicles need to gain and keep public trust, as you mentioned. there is also a transition for affected workers with this new technology.

the committee has received letters from unions representing workers who work in and around vehicles that share their priorities and concerns with self cars. and we will put that into the record. how are you and your members working with transportation workers, affected communities on the public to build trust and transparency? what is the best approach to dealing with this challenge as the industry continues to develop? incidents will occur. that is something you need to be thinking about. >> thank you very much for the question. as i mentioned in my opening statement, the release of the trust principles. one of the things that comes through in that document, we are articulating a very strong belief with an incredible amount of local engagement. prior to companies going into cities and speaking with local leaders and with first

responders, with leaders, in labor and other walks of life. it is important that we are meeting people where they are and explaining what our intentions are, how we can increase safety and how we can help with supply chain challenges with accessibility opportunities and this proud o that the industry has put a significant amountof resources toward. e in the process of voting right now. i will vote really quickly. i will hand the gavel over to the ranking member and i will be back to relieve you. >> works for me, thank you, chairman. thank you for the reply and thank you for mentioning the ai road map that we released last

week. in that bipartisan road map we encourage committees to continue their work on developing the federal framework for testing and deployment and we highlight strategic competitors, continue to race ahead and shape the vision of this technology. just yesterday, the uk, the ev act became law. they will have driverless cars on their road within where does the u.s. stand in the global ev competition and what are other countries doing differently in support innovation and deployment? >> thank you very much for ?7th question. the way that i think about

this, over the course of the last dozen or so years, you have had an incredible american success story bringing autonomous driving ere it is. this has gone unnoticed by many countries around the world. they want accessibility and benefits. they are racing to keep up and china is one of those countries. we are firmly in the lead. we have the best comp the world. we are ahead in technological innovation. we are struggling when it comes to public policy. we need a framework puin place. we need action on legislation and action on rules at the department of transportation. the federal government is behind where a lot of states are. they have taken action in recent years. >> it is incumbent upon us to listen to these entreaties and to act after studying the facts and consulting with all stakeholders. we have been involved in such

consultation in preparing for acti for some period of time if the uk is prepared to go ahead, it seems that we ought to be. especially that we are meeting in innovating a lot of these techlogies. is that consistent with your assessment? >> we have the best companies in the world here. we need a framework that can support those companies going forward. >> to move on to another important topic that many of you touched on in your opening remarks, i will get to many of you. 41,000 people died on our roads last year. a massive number. i was trying to contextualize this number. i believe that it goes underreported. compared to other disasters that afflict families and

communities. the cdc reports that every year, the number of u.s. murderers is half that number. i think it was completely accurate when secretary buddha judge said that human drivers are not just problematic, they are murderous. again, he was talking about the opportunity for not adopting the latest technologies. we havein this level of carnage our entire lives. can you tell us, how this will decrease the number of fatalities and share any projections on how significantly it will decrease by your estimates? >> i appreciate the question. the reality is that we have been desensitized to this as a

country. it will take committee hearings like this, accidentally federal and state level to address this. for our part in the industry, we believe this will be a solution that is out there. the reality is that human behavior is what is driving a lot of the death and crushes we are seeing. autonomous vehicles do not suffer from human frailties, they do not drive impaired, distracted, we do not have to accept any longer these types of human conditions that are there. we will continue to see autonomous vehicles rolled out deliberately in american communities, that is great in crashes and that is something we need federal partners on. >> we have to lay a predicate of trust enabling that to happen. i understand. i will recognize senator call bashar. >> thank you very much, mr.

chair, thank you. it is wonderful to be here with all of you. i have cared a lot about this issue for a while when i was a prosecutor on dwis and we had to change our law in minnesota for repeat felons driving with repeat dwis. a guy told the officer that he moved to minnesota when there was not enhanced penalties. then when i go work on distract driving. the transportation system is one of the best in the country. number four for transportation infrastructure and we have so many fatalities due to driving. in $4your testimony, you know h

in 2021, rural communities had a fatality rate 1.5 times higher than the urban rage. can you speak to how tructure i rural areas can improve safety and transportation systems? >> thank you for the question, senator. rural communities face the brunt of traffic fatalities. we have seen that there are significant positive impacts from technologies in particular lane keep which in iowa, lane departure is one of the leading causes of crashes. these systems assist drivers to stay in their lane and not crossed the median strip. in the physical world, many rural states do rumble strips to help drivers understand when

they might be drifting from the lane. with regard to broadband, communications is the backbone of transportation in the 21st century. it will continue to be more important as we move forward and incorporate advanced technologies into our system. at the base level what it allows us to do is to transmit and share critical information in various different ways to road users. that is key. we need to be investing in that backbone and the communications infrastructure as part of transportation programs and funding. >> thank you. what i was referencing before on distracted driving, it takes five seconds to drive across the entire football field. senator young and i competed at

an indianapolis game. the vikings had the biggest comeback in the nfl. it happens. almost as good as the timberwolves this week. the football field, to get more serious, five seconds to drive across the football field at 55 miles per hour. five seconds. in 2022, when people are looking at their phone, 3300 people died in accidents involving distracted drivers. one the driver of the car that she was writing and reached to grab something in the back seat. this happens over and over again. your testimony note that 3% of all drivers are looking at or using a handheld device. in your view, how can new technologies combat distracted

driving? >> senator, thank you for sharing the information that you just did. this is something happening every single day. this is a huge national problem. the expectation with autonomous vehicles that we can help to address that. the reality is that the system does not get distracted and you do not have to have the situation now where many people, the temptation is too great. to look when they are going a certain speed and we know what happens. we are trying to fundamentally remove the human error persistent across our country. we want to remove that from across the country. >> at the same time enforcing the laws that we have on the books, i will add. not everyone will be doing that. it is really a balance. we have tried to put a lot of incentives in place for getting laws passed to help with

distracted driving. thank you very much for your work. with that, i will turn it back to you, mr. chair. >> thank you, i will recognize senator -- >> thank you, senator, thank you all for being here. i did not hear all of the testimony. i had other questions. here is the one thing i've not heard. the increased weight of the electric vehicle. the president has said that by 2030 we are going have 50% of the cars will be electric vehicles. i did some brief stuff on my phone here. the gmc hummer ev weighs 9000 pounds. the battery itself. a gmc sierra which is hummer ways 6000 pounds. there is a study out there that

says that baseline fatality possibility increases 47% for every thousand poundsadded to a car. we can't regulate or legislate if we reach these goals which are doubtful, going in that direction. if we are looking at heavier vehicles. this has been brought to my attention by the west virginia d.o.t. and if guardrails can withstand the impacts. when you talk about fatalities, it is mass versus velocity. you e not slowing down if you have been an electric car, they get up and go pretty fast. what are we going to do about this? does anybody have suggestions? >> thank you for the question, senator.

this is a question we have to address collectively as we move forward. in america, our northstar is safety. we acknowledge the climate on a we need to move to a more sustainable transportation system we need to prioritize safety. i mentioned in my opening remarks, we need to move to a more proactive approach. part of that means preventing crashes before they even happen as opposed to mitigating the impact. we need to do both. if we take an approach that is prctive to prevent the crash from happening, i believe we can leverage technology tools in the best possible way. >> mr. nelson? >> thank you for the questions, senator. we support customer choice. >> these are heavier ve that will result in more

fatalities when we are talking about safety. >> you are speaking our language. we have given a lot of thought to the safety implications involving ev's. you highlighted issues about stopping distance and how quickly these vehicles can reach higher speeds. degradation of built infrastructure. just think of a parking garage. size and weight issues. >> are there any solutions here? >> we do not have solutions yet. we do not have a high penetration of ev's in the u.s. fleet. we should be approaching this as a do no harm policy move. we have not seen effort into thinking through how to address these implications on infrastructure and on safety. we have seen no action. >> would be smart to be talking about this right now in these types of vehicles. if any of the goals are actually met, this will be a

large part of our fleet. >> thank you, senator. as i spoke about this in my earlier remarks. mass is a critical factor. this be that these vehicles can travel. a lot of the tools we have in our toolbelt address the speed si of the equation. with infrastructure investment, opportunities for a lot of the built environment to address speed management. to create safe and appropriate speeds in different contexts. we have some technologies on the vehicular side as well related to speed assistance and supported devices. >> i'm not being confrontational, clarifying myself, we would would not let

certain mileage or certain speed. there are bills that say that trucks should not go then 70 miles per hour. if that is the posted speed limit, is that what you are talking about there? >> there are technologies that exist on large truck fleets. what we are seeing in other countries is on systems. >> what does that mean? >> providing warnings to drivers when they are overspeed or they can address the pressure that needs to be applied to accelerate a vehicle to give physical feedback to the driver so that they do not continue to accelerate over the posted speed. >> they are doing that? >> they are. >> there is a great law that we passed. i wonder, what you see in the

future? thank you. >> thank you. >> senator fisher, you are recogniz >> i have an answer to your question. you were asking if there has been any testing that has gone on with accidents on the safety there. the university of nebraska conducted a first of its kind crash assessment and they crashed the all electric pickup truck to investigate the efficacy of current safety measures in light of the increased presence of heavier ev's through the guardrail and traveled into the opposite lane of traffic in january, a group of engineers warned that increasing the weight with structural design requirements were resolved and were in reduced infrastructure safety for parking structures.

testing has been done, i assume that there will be more done the future. you brought up with trucks and the weight of trucks. the batteries are much heavier than 3000 pounds. yeah. a lot of research needs to be done there. right. ms. chase, a recent re found that 20% of the u.s. population lived in rural communities. rural areas account for about 40% of all traffic fatalities. nebraska, i'm sorry to say, has the second highest ratio of urban fatality rates in this country. you mentioned that rural areas have rumble bars. we do on our highways in nebraska, we have a number of

those on every highway. you mentioned technology. you mentioned some infrastructure changes. in the near term, do you have any ideas on upgrades that we can see for infrastructure that can have some big safety gains there? it is very concerning. >> thank you for the question, senator. know they can benefit from vehicle to everything technology. this is the technology that public agencies can deploy today. to access these funds. they can deploy these roadside units to be able to communicate with fleets and other drivers if they are deployed in the vehicles. they can provide curb speed

warning alerts if the vehicle is going too fast. we have seen great success in wyoming using weather warning alerts because there are such spot weather impacts with a risk of semi's tipping over. they have a lot of data that shows that there has been a significant reduction in crashes. that is important technology to be deploying and investing in today. understanding that some of the safety benefits will come immediately and more will come in the long term as this technology gets deployed and is scaled throughout the transportation system. >> thank you. mr. nelson, i was interested to see that in your testimony, you said that rising traffic

fatalities -- you noted that citations for duis and other types of dangerous driving have decreased by 50% in some regions. you attributed much of this to the staffing challenges that facing right now. i have a bill atident will be s it addresses that staffing concern. it contains a new study to assess the staffi crisis at departments nationwide. this includes the impacts that this issue is having on public safety. do you believe that traffic fatalities should be among the public safety impacts that my bill and that study should evaluate? is that something that we can

recommend be included? >> absolutely. we need to underscore the important role that law enforcement plays in enforcing lifesaving laws. the research is crystal clear that when risk apprehension goes down, risk-taking behaviors go up. there was a survey of law enforcement agencies nationwide confirming the concerns with staffing shortages and tied it to the negative perception of law enforcement throughout the united states. one of the ways that we support to law enforcement accessing better data to increase transparency in the

communities that they serve and protect. >> can i have my staff reach out to you for information on that? and more ideas that we can help only help guide where the committee will be looking out where that study will be going? >> senator, we would love that. >> a second round. there are more members on their way here. senator ray has to vote so he will ask questions now. >> think do you the amazing witnesses. i have learned a lot today. one of the things that i am struck by is not only the ability to save lives, but also the amazing impact they can have on changing the quality of life on countless individuals who rely on friends, family, and others to drive them around their communities. how will the development of evs

impact the disabled, the blind, the elderly, and others that are unable to drive. >> thank you for the question. this is something near and dear to my heart. we work with many organizations in the spaces that you mentioned. how these will be transformative for their communities, you mentioned the elderl■b■y. my grandmother has not driven in more than 10 years. live locally that can take her to places. many do not have those situations. they have lost the liberation that comes with being able to [e drive. you talked about the visually impaired. it's important to note that there are masse amounts of underemployment and unemployment in the blind community because they cannot get to as many look at organiza the nati■ç::onallooks towards autonomous vehicles to move

around more freely and have that independence that so many people take for granted. >> thank you. ms. chase, i will turn to you in recognition of the fact that neither congress or the executive branch have provided regulatory standards for deploying autonomous vehicles. i would like to get your perspective on the impact that the lack of a clear federal standard governments. >> thank you for the question. are ate and local public agencies have expressed continued frustration with in action because what it has done, it has transferred the risk and responsibility for assessing these safety systems to the state and locality. there is great desire from the community public and private

sector, to move forward with the ev safety framework that was mentioned earlier. >> thank you. i will turn for my final question to to dr. sandt. this type of infrastructure has been around for generatis. my dear mother lives in a town that is known as the roundabout capital of the world. carmel indiana. they have installed 150 roundabouts over the last 30 years. the city's population has quadrupled during that time. the conversion of roundabouts has resulted in a 47% reduction in injury crashes overall. and a 90% reduction in

fatalities. the amount of time saved in 2020 was five days or 120 hours per motorist. roundabouts provide for the increased flow without stopping can you talk about the safety benefits of roundabouts that improve roadway safety and increase efficiency in the transportation network? >> thank you, senator young. it is fantastic to hear the success stories we have had in indiana. roundabouts are part of the success stories that we can claim with the speed management tools. with roundabouts, we see the research pointing to an 80% reduction in fatal injury crashes. the key is that they really do reduce conflict points at those intersections where injuries can be severe. they reduce the approach speed.

they reduce delay at intersections. they can have benefits beyond safety. what is fantastic about the roundabouts we see in the united states, they have versatility of design in different contexts. in school zones in wisconsin, kansas, they worked with the freight community to make roundabouts work for the trucking industry. and they are a tool for safety and mobility. thank you for sharing your story. >> thank you very much, dr., for speaking to that question. the chairman is captivated by my inquiries related to roundabouts. you can access a 30 minute tutorial on roundabouts, where the former mayor talks at great length about the safety

benefits, about the fuel benefits, they are cheaper to maintain. we are preaching the gospel. thank you. >> we will tune in. mr. nelson, i have a question for both of you. if each of you could speak to the improvements we can make to the safe streets for all grant program to improve the community's ability to make the most of them. i would love to have your input on how we can make them better. >> thank you for the question, senato one of the benefits of that is if we are serious , the number of fatalities to zero, we have to follow the data. it will tell a story pretty

quick we that it is in lower income underserved communities. one of the benefits of bringing these kinds of funds to the local community is addressing the population that is bearing the brunt of the safety problem. we can engage in public engagement and participation. this is more than just a listening session of local residents, it is about making sure that they understand what the safety solutions available to them. the input on which countermeasures they would welcome most into the community should be adopted and implemented to the outcome of that project. how we will build demand and support for these investments

or those in the communities. we can foster more investments like this in the future. >> very good. >> thank you for the question, chairman. with the safe streets for all program. the design for benefiting local governments is very important. i'm happy that the program exists. changes we would make to the program going forward, a couple of things come to mind. how do we incentivize collaboration between cities and other jurisdiction owners that might not be eligible to apply. there are larger roads that they own. the state d.o.t. is not able to participate in the program. that is a good thing. where we need to be creative, they also own the most dangerous streets. and there is still a

requirement where cities can justify spending their dollars on someone else's roadway, we need to be creative about how we address those roads that fall outside of the purview unless you are applying upon another jurisdiction. next is whether or not, i would look carefully at the implementation funding and the demonstration project funding. both are incredible and valuable. as more communities go forward and have safety action plans, it's important to have flexibility in how those dollars can be spent to allow more safety measures to be tried out. between two of those, there is opportunity to do a little bit of fine tweaking to an overall gray program. >> thank you. dr. sandt, you discussed taking a public health approach

to roadway safety. if you can explain exactly what you mean by a public health approach when it comes to we improve data collection as well as education related to roadway safety. >> thank you for that question. the approach is very compatible with what we have been talking about with the safes if the approach. to prevent and reduce the likelihood of injury or any other negative health outcome. another important parallel is in public health, we follow the so she oh ecological framework. individual behaviors stem and often are influenced by a broader social environment and

a broader physical environment. we can change human health and human behavior by recognizing the systems that people are operating and looking at the social and physical environments. taking a holistic view, it is very much 6■aligned with the approach that public health practitioners used for other health issues. with respect to your question around datathe urces and knowle how we can improve the injury data systems. there are complementary data sources including the trauma registries, ems data, that can supplement the data that we collect from law enforcement officers. we also see examplthin the publ community. and opportunities to link that data and understand the nature

of risk. with respect to the question about communications, public health does a fantastic job in many ways of engaging the community and having strong messaging around health communications and health behaviors. that is a great opportunity to coordinate and build partnerships with the transportation community as well. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman, very much. we have learned a lot about how technology can make cars safer. we do not just need safe cars, we need safe streets for drivers and pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit th 1994, 21% of people killed in motor vehicle accidents were outside the vehicle. in 2022, the number rose to 36%

of those killed outside the vehicle. the death toll tells a ■@simila story. in 2022 the number was 7500 ople. that is why i introduced the complete streets act. the bill mandates that all construction along dangerous roads must include complete streets like bicycle and pedestrian paths. detroit works hard to include design elements in its road structure. do you agree that we must prioritize at the federal level in order to make roads safer? >> thank you, senator, for your question and support on road safety and complete streets. absolutely. for any street design, having a

complete street is critically important. the right solution is not to put bike lanes on every single street but you have solutions that are appropriate for the road. looking at things to slow down traffic to allow pedestrians to cross safer. or it could just be having painted crosswalks so that pedestrians can cross the street. there is a variety of countermeasures that can be used. anything we can do to support safer streets including streets that receive federal funding, that is extremely valuable. >> i would like to look at another important topic. automakers are including necles assist drivers with accelerating, breaking and turning and these are only designed for use under certain road conditions. with an alert driver behind the

wheel. these features are especially dangerous when automakers give them misleading names that lull drivers into a false sense of security. the worst offender is tesla. who has created an autopilot mode that should be called semi pilate. in your view, do tesla drivers understand the autopilot mode can be operated on certain roads and require active driver engagement and they can push the button and go to sleep? >> thank you very much for the question. as i mentioned in the opening em distinguish between actual autonomous vehicles operating at level four. the human in the vehicle has no responsibility for the driving task. it is imperative that the

driver understands. they need to be prepared to pull over at a moments notice. >> thank you. >> by contrast these automated

features on times vehicles are not designed to be operated in other road conditions dangerous, winding roads with cross traffic. you represent many manufacturers who are testing full autonomous vehicles. can does vehicles operate outside their operational driving domain? >> thank you for the question. the state of the technology right now is our members are operating at level iv. meaning that they are confined an operational design domain that is a set of safety limitations put on the vehicle whether geographic. right now

that can be something like the city of san francisco or phoenix or scottsdale or a stretch of highway for things like autonomous trucking, and that is where we are from a technology perspective. we will make sure we roll it out safely. >> should they engage in be able to operate outside of their operational design domain? >> i cannot speak to the driver assisting features in terms of what the state of the technology is. i can only speak to level for technology where they are now. >> my view is there is no reason that driving features like autopilot should be operating outside of their operational design domain. thank you for this hearing the. and thank all of the witnesses for their expert testimony. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to start by thanking you for highlighting the importance in your testimony. i was proud to work with a bipartisan coalition of colleagues and■x gary peters wh

is also a champion for road safety to get this landmark revision included in the law. once implemented based on statisticsuá that we see across the country's as many as 10,000 lives a year could is technology. over the past few years i have been encouraged to see industry partners stand up and become a part of the solution to get impaired driving technology in vehicles. leicester general motors ceo said that technology to passively detect alcohol in ca coming soon. at ces this year they introduced the latest test car with no safety technology providing the number of interior sensing technologies to detect since the president signed the law and to act in 2021 how has the technology available on the

market changed? >> thank you for the question. before i respond to yo i want t and your colleagues for getting it over the finish line. relative to your question about how technology has evolved since implementation. tke nolog before it became law, but certainly the halls making it into the legislation has spurred innovation. there is no question that technology to make this happen whether it be just alcohol or the passive detection plus vehicle monitoring are combined together. all of those options exist right now. they are already working on ways to implement it and issuing its finals was the only way we are goin we stop allowing 37 people to

die on our roads in crashes every day that it is delayed. >> let me ask you a follow-up to that but why is is so important they issued the notice of public ru/slemaking b november 2024? >> i think every day we delay that we allow 37 people to die on our roads and. it is a life or situation. >> i appreciate that. having now have sat in many vehicles including the test vehicles they were showing be one of the largest suppliers to gm if i am not mistaken. it was impressive to see what people have already developed and to positively on the number of patents that have been filed as well as american major suppliers is encouraging. that was one the goals of this to encourage the market to respond to providing solutions as well, so thank you very much for that as well. highlighting the importance of another key technology and transportation. safety. a future innovations in transportation safety rely on

technology like broadband to keep drivers in vulnerable road users safe. >> thank you for the question. the answer is there is more than one way to communicate, so broadband is a key solution, but there is also a dedicated spectrum for safety critical collision avoidance and also wireless communication options and particularly with advances in five you technology and others there are many ways to communicate course safety information to road users. broadband is a key backbone of our system but not the only way to communicate. >> is brought been needed for wireless towers to work? >> broadband is needed for ubiquitous communication and infrastructure. >> i am not trying to be cute, but the way i understand the tower they divide to depend on there is the tower and it has

antennas and provides a canopy to cover things of that nature. the hardwire to tower. that is a necessity, correct? >> i cannot speak to the exact specifications of what is needed. >> let me go on then put the reason i am asking the question. let me ask the question the way that you answered. if there is no connectivity in rural communities is that going to prevent some of the benefits to accessing future roadway safety technologies? if they do not have wireless. no broadband or canopy. and a rural community do they get the benefit from the same a connectivity with wireless providers or broadband canopies built by folks in the community? >> those technologies need to be prioritized in rural areas for sure for more reasons than

just transportation safety. there is significant economic anhe from coming that type of connectivity . the solutions will enhance some of the more modern technological advances in transportation safety, but there are solutions even right now there is an example of an a.i. based sensor and solu individua reservation who does not have the connectivity. they are able to actually track and understand dangerous situations and such using this contained solution that is not dependent on a broadband connection, so i would say there are additional ways to bring those solutions to rural communities, but i agree that broadband connectivity and cellular connectivity building that is important. >> i do not disagree that whether it is other sensors

participating with some a.i. sensor capability and a hard drive is going to outgrow the community. the problem is all of the ot th internet access or wireless connectivity in the community than they do not get that in people living in rural communities deserve the same safety but is going to be in a vehicle in the biggest cities in america. that is the point i was trying to make. because of the question they were asking with the level iii vehicles. if i am correct with these things when it is a level iii in will alert you if your hands are not at a certain stage. even with a tesla sensor session is turned off. you have to use your hands the the car and all the rest. is that correct?

>> yes. we represent truly autonomous vehicle. >> i will save my question for someone else. the question i have is it is my understanding now for folks that have level iii cars. there are some people in nodding yes. you attach this thing to the steering wheel and it thinks your hand is on it. someone found a loophole.

>> this earring is now adjourned. ■■mññ