I’m not ready; we’re not ready, was my first thought. He added: “California’s proposed rules are fantastic news for Texas”.
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That vision is not a pie-in-the-sky, wouldn’t it be cool if, techie fantasy. Consumers simply don’t know enough about the technology to weigh in yet, which is why Google is trying to, and overdoing it sometimes, explain the ins and outs the best they can.
If California can’t lead the way, perhaps other cities and countries beckon.
The California DMV claims that its draft rules, released for public comment this week, are aimed at ensuring the safety of all road users while still promoting the continued development of driverless auto technology.
“Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this”, the company said in a statement. “I like it when people err on the side of caution”. Since then, the DMV has finished rules that require autonomous vehicles to be operated by trained drivers and have a steering wheel.
Eleven manufacturers now hold permits to test autonomous vehicles in California.
“These vehicles are either stopping in a situation or slowing down when a human driver might not”, said Brandon Schoettle, co-author of the MI study. The reason revolves around safety, with the idea being that a licensed driver could take control if the vehicle messed up in some way. The agency claims manufacturers need to “obtain more experience” testing driverless vehicles on public roads before making the technology available to the general public.
But the DMV is drawing such narrow boundaries that it overly constrains the possible uses of these kinds of cars.
“The department will address the unique safety, performance and equipment requirements associated with fully autonomous vehicles without the presence of a driver in subsequent regulatory packages”, the draft read.
Sakkers continues, “Autonomous vehicles have the potential to allow the elderly to live in their own homes for longer, by providing them a way to move around after they are no longer able to drive”.
California has become a big testing ground for autonomous vehicles, but the government is cracking down on the testing process.
Speculation has also been rife that Google might enter vehicle manufacturing itself. I admit I am a control freak, a back seat driver, who hits the brakes even in the passenger seat. “This would increase the caution of other drivers until the time when most cars are driverless”, Segers wrote.
But driving is freedom, so I get over my anxiety every day. But when you go out and drive the speed limit on the highway, pretty much everybody on the road is just zipping past you.
The self-driving cars that Google and others have been testing on public streets keep getting rear-ended, apparently because they’re too law-abiding and too careful.
According to NHTSA, humans are responsible for about 94 percent of accidents that occur on USA roads. Basically, it wants them equipped with a licensed human who can take charge when the software runs out of options or makes a choice that is logical but may not be ideal.
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Ten days later, a Mountain View motorcycle cop noticed traffic stacking up behind a Google vehicle going 24 miles an hour in a busy 35 mph zone.
