The federal government should be in charge of regulating self-driving cars rather than states since the vehicles are essentially controlled by software, not people, Obama administration officials said September 19 as they laid out the broad outlines of their plans to help get the transformational technology safely onto the nation’s roadways.
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“Possessing the potential to uproot personal mobility as we know it, to make it safer and even more ubiquitous than conventional automobiles and perhaps even more efficient, self-driving cars have become the archetype of our future transportation”, wrote Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
President Barack Obama believes government regulation will help, rather than hinder, advances in self-driving cars. “What’s more, the quickest way to slam the brakes on innovation is for the public to lose confidence in the safety of new technologies”.
In drawing up 112 pages of guidelines, the government tried to be vague enough to allow innovation while at the same time making sure that vehicle makers, tech companies and ride-hailing firms put safety first as the cars are developed.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation released its first set of federal regulations on the autonomous vehicle industry. Uber, the ride-hailing app, has a new fleet of self-driving taxis in Pittsburgh, albeit with a driver behind the wheel for safety.
It’s the strongest indication yet that the federal government is embracing autonomous vehicle technology and the benefits that come with it – including safer roads, less congestion, and eliminating driver error.
The new policy will include a 15-point checklist for companies working on the technology and guidance for joined-up state level regulation.
That’s why my administration is rolling out new rules of the road for automated vehicles – guidance that the manufacturers developing self-driving cars should follow to keep us safe.
But Obama also admits that “regulation can go too far”, adding: “Government sometimes gets it wrong when it comes to rapidly changing technologies”.
He wrote about the new rules being released for autonomous vehicles.
There’s now no news for when Uber’s self-driving cars might be rolling out to Asia, but we’ve reached out to the company for comment so stay tuned for updates.
The regulatory agency says any business that wants to transport people for money has to prove it’s safe and get approval before starting the service.
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“The progress we’ve seen in automated vehicles over the past several years shows what our country is capable of when our engineers and entrepreneurs, our scientists and our students – backed by federal and private investment – pour their best work and brightest ideas toward a big, bold goal”, Obama said.
