Western Massachusetts resident Debin Bruce, who was with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from 1996 through 2018, is giving a Zoom talk on November 4 , 2022 on “Why Don’t We Have Self-Driving Cars?”
The email from Northampton Neighbors, the local organization hosting the talk, is below.
From: Northampton Neighbors <info@northamptonneighbors.org>
Subject: NN Speaker Series: “Why Don’t We Have Self-Driving Cars?”
Reply-To: Northampton Neighbors <info@northamptonneighbors.org>
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NN Speaker Series Presents
Debin Bruce on Nov. 4
“Why Don’t We Have Self-Driving Cars?”
Accident investigations unfold into complex stories. In 2016, we had the first known U.S. fatality involving a car operated by automated driving systems. As the NTSB investigator in charge of that Tesla crash in Williston, Florida, Debin Bruce wrote the report (see link below) and gave many talks on behalf of the National Transportation Safety Board about that investigation.This Zoom presentation—from 3 to 4 pm on Friday, November 4—will be a first-person account to explain how the technical work is accomplished. Zoom link:
Launch Meeting – Zoom 1The automotive trade magazines told us six years ago that, by now, we’d be able to sleep on our way to work. What has slowed down the promises of self-driving cars?
Based on human performance analysis in many other cases, she would also be happy to discuss questions about driver distraction, fatigue, or impairment.
Debin Bruce, Ph.D., was with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from 1996 through 2018. She ran their safety research division within the Office of Research and Engineering and was a project manager in the Office of Highway Safety. In 2017, she received the NTSB’s Chairman’s Award, the board’s highest recognition of professional achievement. Before joining the NTSB, she worked in the private sector on air traffic control research projects and as a documentation specialist for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She holds a BS degree in chemistry and an MA degree in communications from the University of Kentucky and an MA and a Ph.D. in human factors engineering from George Mason University.
• See the self-driving cars report at
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HAR1702.pdfNN offers live transcription of the event so you can read along with the spoken word during the presentation. Call 929-436-2866 to listen by phone without video.
View the Northampton Neighbor Speaker Series Archive (recorded since 2020) on YouTube 1 and on Northampton Open Media Channel 12, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9 am and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 7 pm.