Ahead of his administration’s release of new rules for self-driving cars tomorrow, President Obama has penned an op-ed largely in support of the technology for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Right now, too many people die on our roads – 35,200 past year alone – with 94 percent of those the result of human error or choice”, President Obama writes.
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In addition, no less than President Barack Obama himself published an editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggesting the technology could save thousands of lives, adding his administration’s policy is “flexible and created to evolve with new advances”. Self-driving vehicles could also help senior citizens and people with disabilities who can’t drive on their own.
“In particular, it emphasises that semi-automated driving systems – ones in which the human continues to monitor the driving environment and perform some of the driving task – 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 may be defined as an unreasonable risk to safety and subject to recall”.
President Obama says new federal guidelines for self-driving cars will keep the technology safe for Americans. And we’re asking them to sign a 15-point safety checklist showing not just the government, but every interested American, how they’re doing it.
Looking to encourage the nascent autonomous vehicle industry – and ensure safety without overregulation – the federal government for the first time released a set of guidelines for self-driving cars.
In somewhat contradictory fashion, officials also said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is examining whether it should have “pre-market approval” authority, in which the government inspects and approves new technologies like autonomous vehicles. Imagine the business traveler, tired from his constant life on the road, sliding into an autonomous vehicle at his or her next leg and allowing the auto to finagle the road to the hotel. They are on the roads, becoming available to the general public – and the government wants to make sure the people, and the government, are ready. Auto makers will have to demonstrate how their technology works, what happens if it fails and how they’ve been tested before a full commercial roll-out. And luckily for the innovators in Silicon Valley, the president welcomes new technology.
Countless experts and elected officials are excited about the prospect of self-driving cars.
“Safer, more accessible driving”, Obama added of the technology’s potential.
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According to a March 2016 study by the American Automobile Association, 75 percent of drivers said they wouldn’t feel safe in a self-driving vehicle.
