The introduction and potential proliferation of highly automated vehicles (AVs) present the classic challenge of balancing the freedom of private manufacturers to innovate with the government's responsibility to protect public health. AVs raise many public health issues beyond their potential to improve safety, ranging from concerns about more automobile use and less use of healthier alternatives like biking or walking, to concerns that focusing on autonomous vehicles may distract attention and divert funding from efforts to improve mass transit. There are, additionally, issues of access, especially for the poor, disabled, and those in rural environments [1].

As the classic Code of Ethics for Public Health recommends [2], public health advocates can advocate for the rights of individuals and their communities while protecting public health by helping to establish policies and priorities through “processes that ensure an opportunity for input from community members.” Public health thought leaders can ensure that communities have the information they need for informed decisions about whether and how autonomous vehicles will traverse their streets, and they can make sure that manufacturers who test and deploy autonomous vehicles obtain “the community’s consent for their implementation.” Finally, public health leaders can work for the empowerment of the disenfranchised, incorporating and respecting “diverse values, beliefs, and cultures in the community” and collaborating “in ways that build the public’s trust” [2].