<html class="apple-mail-supports-explicit-dark-mode"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr">Good morning fellow Federationists,</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">The organ legislature is currently taking up house bill 4085, which if passed, would allow Waymo and other autonomous vehicles to operate in Oregon.</div><div dir="ltr">The national Federation of the blind of Oregon is in support of this bill, and if you are too, we are requesting you submit testimony.</div><div dir="ltr">Below is a letter template, and below that is a link on how to submit your testimony. Testimony needs to be submitted by 8 AM tomorrow morning.</div><div dir="ltr">Thanks,</div><div dir="ltr">Ryan</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">\ufeff<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><br></div><div><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">To: The Oregon House Committee on Transportation</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Regarding: Support for House Bill 4085</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Chair [Name] and Members of the Committee,</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">My name is [Your Name], and I am writing to you as a blind Oregonian and a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon. I am writing to urge your "Yes" vote on House Bill 4085.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">For many, the debate over autonomous vehicles (AVs) is about technology. For me, and for the thousands of blind Oregonians I represent, it is about safety and civil rights. I would like to highlight why this bill is essential for our community.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">1. Reducing the "Human Error" Crisis</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 94% of motor vehicle crashes are caused by human error, including distraction, impairment, and fatigue. As a blind pedestrian, I experience the consequences of these statistics every day. When I stand at a crosswalk with my cane or guide dog, I am at the mercy of human drivers who may be looking at their phones or failing to yield.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Unlike humans, an autonomous driving system does not get distracted. It is equipped with 360-degree sensors that never "blink." By supporting HB 4085, you are supporting a transition toward a transportation system where "human error" is no longer a life-threatening risk for vulnerable pedestrians.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">2. Protecting the Rights of Service Animal Users</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">One of the most significant barriers to our independence is the routine discrimination we face from rideshare and taxi drivers. It is a heartbreaking reality that many blind Oregonians are refused rides or harassed simply because they travel with a guide dog. Autonomous vehicles remove this human bias entirely. An AV will never "cancel" a ride or drive away when it sees a service animal, ensuring our rights under the ADA are finally upheld in practice, not just on paper.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">3. A Statewide Standard for True Independence</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">HB 4085 provides a necessary, unified statewide standard. A "patchwork" of local regulations would effectively trap blind citizens within municipal borders. To hold a job or visit family, we must be able to travel across city lines with the same predictability as any other driver. Furthermore, AVs provide "on-demand" freedom that paratransit\u2014with its 24-hour notice requirements\u2014simply cannot match.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Conclusion</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Autonomous vehicles are no longer a science fiction dream; they are a 21st-century mobility tool. I urge you to prioritize the safety of all road users and the independence of the blind community by voting yes on HB 4085.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Thank you for your time and for your commitment to a safer, more accessible Oregon.</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Sincerely,</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">[Your Name]</span></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">National Federation of the Blind of Oregon</span></p><p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; min-height: 22px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br></p><p class="p2" style="margin: 0px; font-width: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"><a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Testimony/HCT/HB/4085/2026-02-09-08-00?area=Measures">Oregon Legislative Information System</a></span></p></div></div></body></html>