Trump’s Transportation Secretary Wrongly Says Level 2 Autonomous Cars Don’t Need Drivers

Donald Trump-appointed U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has made an embarrassing blunder during an interview with Fox Business about self-driving cars.

Speaking to the publication, Chao said “We have now self-driving cars. We have level-two self-driving cars. They can drive on the highway, follow the white lines on the highway, and there’s really no need for any person to be seated and controlling any of the instruments. And now we’re also seeing self-driving trains that are possible, self-driving planes.”

Chao is correct in saying that Level 2 autonomous vehicles are currently on sale but as The Verge noted, the assertion that there’s not really a need for a human to control a semi-autonomous vehicle is incorrect.

According to the Society of Automotive Engineers, vehicles with Level 2 autonomy can only drive themselves in certain scenarios but require a driver to remain vigilant and to take control whenever necessary.

A number of automakers have shied away from dubbing vehicles outfitted with Level 2 systems as ‘self-driving’, often instead referring to them as ‘driver assistance’ systems to avoid confusion and complacency on the part of owners.

Later during the interview, Chao also made the strange statement that level 2 autonomous systems are “probably safer than a level five or a level four self-driving car,” despite most research in the field suggesting otherwise.