A decade from now, when today's millennials are raising their own families, a sixteenth birthday will carry none of its current significance. That's because none of these teens will be hankering for driver's licenses. In fact, they will one day scoff at the idea that society ever allowed teenagers to pilot veritable death machines around our streets.This week, the Obama White House helped advance this coming reality, announcing a new set of guidelines for regulators to follow pertaining to automated (or self-driving) vehicles, a technology that will bring greater change to our day to day lives over the next decade than the internet itself.It's an exciting time to be a transportation buff. Or an urban planning aficionado. Or a big data scientist. Or even an ordinary citizen who wants to both reduce their commuting time, while making it more productive.Automated vehicle technology will not only significantly reduce the number of Canadians who are hurt or perish in motor vehicle collisions (1,834 died in 2014 alone, and another 149,900 were injured according to Transport Canada), but it also has the potential to unlock societal benefits that can help jumpstart our sluggish economy, provided we can put in place a clear set of national standards to encourage development on our soil.STATE OF PLAYFord Canada's president Dianne Craig predicts that her company will be selling automated vehicles in Canada by 2020. Globally, Audi CEO Dr. Rupert Stadler predicts fully automated driving by 2025.The five year predictive gap is immaterial. What's critical is that rapid technological advances are already establishing a reality on the ground before governments, regulators, and even ordinary citizens have an opportunity to understand the major issues at play.A tech company called Oxford is developing a novel software approach that learns how a car's owner drives before the software takes over; a system being developed in the United States called Comma One claims it can convert most vehicles into a semi-autonomous car for under $1000 USD and will be ready to retail by next year; scientists at MIT are currently working on a code of ethics for automated vehicle software; German legislators have deemed that all automated vehicles require a black box of the type found on airliners; and a Missousi man claimed this summer that his Tesla's Auotpilot function saved his life after a devastating collision by transporting him to a hospital.Most recently, the city of Pittsburgh in partnership with Uber has introduced fully automated rides for its customers, taking advantage of a very permissive regulatory approach by transportation officials that has also attracted hundreds of new jobs to a Rust Belt economy badly in need of a jumpstart.On the home front, General Motors announced to great fanfare this past June a plan to bring 700 engineering jobs to a new Ontario research centre dedicated to automated car development.All of this research, development, and testing has made clear that automated vehicles are already much safer, by any metric, than human drivers. But citizens must also feel comfortable with this technology, and decision makers will be cautious as long as the challenge of socialization remains.U.S. GUIDELINES LEAVE A LANE FOR INNOVATION WITHOUT COMPROMISING SAFETYNew guidelines announced by the Obama administration this week strike the right balance between protecting the safety of citizens, and allowing innovators to continue making leaps in the U.S. marketplace.First, the Department of Transportation rolled out a 15 point checklist which it will use to assess the safety of automated vehicles. This move will give federal regulators oversight on any software that pertains to vehicular functions being removed from human control.At the same time, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced its intention to fast-track responses to exemption requests from existing vehicle design standards from an average of several years to six months. The sped up process is specifically tailored to accommodate the development of new automated vehicles by carmakers.As more automated vehicles reach our roads, several major opportunities to unlock economic and social value will increasingly come into view. While the infrastructure and public transit implications are most apparent, and being handling by transportation bodies, there are also new horizons for urban planning and the staging of cities (how much land dedicated to parking space will cities require?), elder care and social mobility (can an automated car pick up the kids from school?), and a host of ethical questions (what decisions will the car make when a rare accident is unavoidable?). The challenges and opportunities go on, touching environmental standards, liability and insurance questions, privacy and data security, and of course the short and long term impact on jobs (about one of every 15 workers in America is employed in the trucking business, according to the American Trucking Association).WHY CANADA CAN LEADCanada's economy has traditionally benefitted from U.S. harmonization on common standards for vehicle design. This will continue to be the case.But Canada's competitive advantage in unlocking local economic and social benefits is clear.While America's innovation and car making capitals – Silicon Valley and Detroit, respectively – remain worlds apart in both distance and temperament, Canada has already seen great collaboration between the Kitchener/Waterloo and Windsor corridors. Ontario alone has a critical mass of nearly 100 companies and institutions involved in the automated vehicle industry, including work in wireless technology to link with other vehicles, transportation infrastructure and mobile devices. Ontario is also unique in having five major assemblers – Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota in its backyard, supported by an advanced supply chain incorporating over 700 parts suppliers.There is also precedent in this space. American tech giant Amazon is currently testing its drone delivery service in Canada, after becoming frustrated with U.S. regulators in its attempts to pilot the technology south of the border.Finally, with a record investment in infrastructure being made by the new federal government, much of which is earmarked for green tech, timing is also fortuitous for Canada.UNLOCKING THE SOCIETAL BENEFITS FOR ALL CANADIANSTaking advantage of this unique set of circumstances requires no small amount of courage and cooperation on the part of industry and decision makers.First, there is the education required to build civic confidence in this life-saving technology. This can be achieved by working with industry to seek out and promote pilot programs in the commercial space that serve as regulatory testing grounds, ultimately helping socialize the technology. Think automated vehicle pilot programs for delivery services on designated roadways, supported by all three levels of government.Second, and perhaps most timely in asserting Canada's competitive advantage, is the need to leverage infrastructure spending to enhance private sector investment. We can do this by investing in vehicle-to-infrastructure integration technology. This includes investments such a smart traffic lights and roadway infrastructure that can 'talk' to vehicles. An automated vehicle itself can already see more of its environment than a human driver. A vehicle that can talk to traffic lights and telephone poles can 'see' around corners.Most critically, regulators must take a do no harm approach, threading the needle between protecting public safety while leaving a lane for innovation. On this front, Pittsburgh is the new gold standard.Matthew Lombardi is working with vehicle makers, ride-share startups, and tech companies to bring a united voice for industry to bear on helping facilitate the deployment of automated vehicles. Our organization will work with policymakers, regulators, and the public to find the right solutions that will make Canada a global leader in unlocking the societal benefits of this technology.