In April, Google formed a lobby with Ford and Uber dubbed the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets calling for a set of driverless vehicle rules by the federal government, rather than a state-by-state approach.
Advertisement
“If every state is left to go its own way without a unified approach, operating self-driving cars across state boundaries would be an unworkable situation and one that will significantly hinder.the eventual deployment of autonomous vehicles”, Chris Urmson, head of Google’s self-driving auto project, said in March.
The Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, whose members include Google, Ford Motor Co and ride-hailing service Uber, said in a statement they hoped policymakers could develop a framework that avoids a “patchwork of requirements that could inhibit self-driving vehicle development”. The Michigan legislature, for example, is considering bills that would allow the testing of self-driving cars without brakes or pedals on state roads. Those crashes killed more than 35,000 people in the USA a year ago.
“We envision in the future, you can take your hands off the wheel, and your commute becomes restful or productive instead of frustrating and exhausting”, said Jeffrey Zients, director of the National Economic Council, adding that highly automated vehicles “will save time, money, and lives”.
The USwill for the first time release guidelines for self-driving cars on Tuesday, as the Department of Transportation publishes a document outlining rules for the safety of such autonomous vehicles. He also noted that the policy, and especially the model state portion, was meant to “avoid a patchwork of state laws” on the software-side of self-driving cars.
In addition to this, the policy will make use of current regulatory rules to aid in the development of vehicles through allowing flexibility in the design as well as limited exemptions for testing (in the case of “Non-Traditional Vehicle Designs”).
Robot cars in the USA will have to be fitted with black boxes that record what happens if they crash, under United States policy covering the vehicles.
President Barack Obama wrote an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette saying automated vehicles have the potential to dramatically reduce the number of people who die on the roads.
Google criticised California previous year when the state proposed draft rules requiring steering wheels and a licensed driver in all self-driving cars. Not only would that depart from existing practice that has served consumers admirably, but it also effectively would grant the federal government a veto over new technology. Traditionally, the federal government has regulated vehicles, and states have handled drivers.
The new guidelines include recommendations for states to pass legislation on introducing self-driving cars safely on their highways.
“What I didn’t want to happen is this technology landing on our doors and our department not being able to deal with it on our own terms”, said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a call with reporters.
The administration guidelines also call for sharing among manufacturers and regulators of data about problems encountered by self-driving vehicles.
The 15 point safety assessment provides guidelines for safe design, development, testing and development of self driving cars.
Advertisement
Ford, Google and others are now testing cars with safety drivers in the driver’s seat in California. New regulations for NHTSA more of an ever-evolving framework for the new, novel ideas, along with ways to beef up or evolve current regulatory tools.
