Get Involved

Now that you’ve learned about self-driving cars and participated in discussions about the many aspects that will impact our societies, it’s time to turn that learning into action. Depending on your interests and what’s happening in your local area, you might try some of the following ideas.

Stay informed

As the technology and legal or social implications surrounding self-driving cars emerges, staying informed is one of the most important ways to be involved. Your monitoring might help you see self-driving car testing come to your area, your local government start discussing how to accommodate new transportation in public spaces, or another way to be involved.

• Subscribe to Mcity’s email newsletter Subscribe to the Politico morning transportation report
• Subscribe to daily email on autonomous vehicles from Axios
• Set Google alerts for common terms (self-driving, autonomous vehicle, etc) + your state, city, or region
• Find the outlets for your local government, most have a social media or email presence to keep you up-to-date on things that might fall under the news radar

Connect locally for advocacy

If you connected most with the issues of access and equity covered in this Teach-Out, you could act on that by getting involved with local government or advocacy groups. In the US, start with city councils, zoning boards, and transportation committees for use of public spaces and related policies. Usually, you can easily find public meetings and published proceedings. Offer your comments when you feel it’s relevant, or you may even consider running or seeking nomination for a commission position yourself. Getting involved with a non-profit locally or nationally that serves people of different abilities, supports people experiencing poverty, or works for people without transportation access may be a fit for advocacy in relation to self-driving cars. Some larger national non-profits may be involved in advocacy work in policy or services that you could support through volunteering. IT’s likely that these organizations are just starting to get involved in self-driving cars, and you may need to be patient and involved as the situation continues to evolve.

Get hands on

If you’re more of a tinkerer, get hands-on with the technology. There are many groups that get together to build robotic vehicles. Some of these groups (like Meetup for something in your area. If you don’t find the right fit, you could bring a new group together.

Consider your career goals

You heard how the future of transportation will impact a lot of industries, including opening up new opportunities for people ready to re-skill. How does the future of self-driving cars align with your career? It could be time to look for professional development or educational opportunities in your field. Depending on your position and interest, you might start with your internal company resources, check out a local school or training center, or start with online learning opportunities. Even without the label “self-driving car,” think about what skills you might need to pivot your current skills and job to accommodate the future of mobility. For many of us, this might include programming, design, management, or policy.