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Safer Self-Driving Cars
What’s at stake: Police in Tempe, Ariz., recently reported what is thought to be the nation’s first fatality involving a self-driving car. A pedestrian, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, was struck by an Uber self-driving vehicle and taken to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries. Tempe police said in a statement that the vehicle had a backup driver behind the wheel but was in autonomous mode at the time of the crash.
In response, Uber shut down its self-driving test program in the four metro areas where it was operating: Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Toronto. But the tragedy still raises questions about the safety of rushing to get the vehicles on the road—and the kinds of consumer protections that are needed for this fast-evolving technology.
How CR has your back: Self-driving cars have the potential to improve mobility and dramatically reduce crashes caused by driver error. But this tragedy makes clear they have a long way to go.
That’s why CR is working with members of Congress to put safeguards in place and push back against efforts to rush the technology to market prematurely. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who recently visited our auto test track for a demonstration of partial self-driving features, is among a group of legislators insisting on improvements to a Senate bill that would actually allow thousands or even millions of self-driving vehicles on the road that do not meet safety standards.
What you can do: Contact your senators at senate.gov and urge them not to approve the bill, known as the AV START Act, without stronger safety measures.
A Fair and Open Internet
What’s at stake: Net neutrality remains an abstract and confusing idea to some Americans, but its real-life implications are pretty simple. With net neutrality rules in place, all information is guaranteed to flow freely over the internet on equal terms. Without them, internet service providers (ISPs) could block, slow, or give preferential treatment to any sites they want—potentially limiting choices and costing consumers more money.
How CR has your back: As the Federal Communications Commission proceeds with its repeal of net neutrality rules this spring, CR has been revving up its long-running efforts to preserve them. On the federal level, CR advocates are supporting a bill, introduced by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., that would reverse the FCC’s repeal. It has so far garnered bipartisan support from 50 senators.
State-level efforts, meanwhile, have been even more fruitful. Governors in five states—Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont—have issued executive orders requiring ISPs seeking to do business with the state to follow the principles of net neutrality. And state lawmakers are moving to pass laws that would require all ISPs operating in their states to abide by net neutrality rules. Washington became the first state to pass such a law, which goes into effect June 6. A similar bill was signed into law by Oregon’s governor in April. And the California legislature is considering what would be the country’s most comprehensive bill to enshrine net neutrality.
What you can do: Consumers have already sent more than 50,000 messages supporting net neutrality to their senators. Join them by telling your senators to restore net neutrality protections, by using CR’s Save Net Neutrality form.
Lowering Drug Prices
What’s at stake: Last month, we highlighted the impact of high drug prices on consumers, many of whom are forced to choose between their prescription meds and other necessities, such as food and rent.
One money-saving strategy we recommended is simply asking for the best price. Absurdly, your pharmacist sometimes can’t offer that information—unless a consumer asks—because of so-called gag clauses in the store’s contract with pharmacy benefit managers. In March, a bipartisan group of senators led by Susan Collins, R-Maine, Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., proposed the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act and the Know the Lowest Price Act, which would end this anti-consumer practice.
How CR has your back: Consumers Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports, is working to support meaningful reform to the prescription drug market and supports several bills pending in Congress, including these gag-clause bills. We also declared April 7 to 14 National Save Money on Your Meds week, encouraging consumers to ask their local pharmacist for the lowest possible prices.
What you can do: For tips on lowering your prescription drug spending, see our May 2018 issue or go to CR.org/drugcosts. And it’s not too late to sign up to join our National Save Money on Your Meds movement. And the next time you or a family member goes to fill a prescription, ask your pharmacist for the best price.
Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the June 2018 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.
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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2018, Consumer Reports, Inc.
