Google, Uber, and Lyft, also hailed the guidelines through their membership in the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets. But with autonomous vehicles, the vehicle becomes the driver. Riders will be able to opt in if they want a self-driving vehicle, and rides will be free to those willing to do it, spokesman Matt Kallman said.
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The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has released its highly anticipated federal policy on the testing and deployment of automated vehicles.
The new policy recommends automakers conduct a voluntary 15-point safety self-assessment for autonomous cars to “certify that their vehicles are ready for public roads”.
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Still, the administration is seeking new tools from Congress to help oversee the operation and deployment of driverless cars, including pre-market approval authority and the power to require manufacturers to take immediate action to mitigate safety risks.
NHTSA will place particular emphasis on monitoring semi-autonomous driving systems that fail to adequately account for the possibility that a distracted or inattentive driver-occupant might fail to retake control of the vehicle in a safety-critical situation. The federal government will set safety standards and investigate noncompliance while the states will license drivers, register vehicles, and enforce traffic laws.
While Obama recognises that in some cases the private sector should be left to develop new technologies on its own, the government needs to oversee certain shifts in how technology is used. “We have to get it right”. In 2007, I first saw Carnegie Mellon University’s prize-winning autonomous vehicle, and three years ago I had a test drive of the University’s next iteration of the auto.
The 15-point list in the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy includes guidance on the best way for robot auto makers to handle security, test vehicles and record data in the event of a crash.
In an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the president reaffirmed his intention to leave USA roadways safer than he found them.
Regulators said the new set of recommendations is more open-ended as it befits a technology that is rapidly changing.
“It’s in their vested interest to go through the rigors that we’re laying out here” to gain the confidence of both regulators and the public, Foxx said.
A model state policy, setting responsibilities on the state level as opposed to the federal government.
The White House is announcing nationwide guidelines to regulate self-driving cars in order to encourage the industry and avoid different rules in different states.
That agency said in the guidance it expects to build on the policy by further researching areas such as cybersecurity.
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The new federal rules also come amid safety questions about the nascent technology – including a fatality in a Tesla that was said to be in Autopilot mode.
