In the column, the president announced the U.S. Department of Transportation’s new policy overview for autonomous vehicles, which includes a 15-point safety checklist created to show regulators and American citizens the steps that companies which produce self-driving vehicles are taking along the way.
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Traditional automakers and tech companies have been testing self-driving prototypes on public roads for several years, with a human in the driver’s seat just in case. DOT Policy’s intends at ensuring “public safety while establishing a strong foundation such that the rules of the road can be known, understood and responded to by industry and the public”.
A leading consumer group isn’t happy with a new federal policy released Tuesday for the development of automated vehicles. Safer, more accessible driving.
The new guidelines comprise a 15-point batch of “safety assessment” procedures for self-driving systems and asks manufacturers to explain how their autonomous systems have been designed and how they operate. Less congested, less polluted roads.
States will be responsible for designating a lead agency in charge of self-driving vehicle testing, as well as a committee focused on automated safety technology. “We’re determined to help the private sector get this technology right from the start”, the president wrote.
President Barack Obama himself penned an op-ed calling for more control over driverless vehicle technology.
“California is an example of the difficulties of regulating and how an effort to encourage and facilitate automated driving has actually complicated and in some ways impeded it”, said Bryant Walker Smith, assistant professor of law and engineering at the University of SC and an affiliate scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.
Any software update or new driverless features will be submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, together with any ethical considerations that have been taken. This document says ‘we really want you to share your data, ‘ but they can’t force them to.
USA regulator agency has published these guidelines on the Department of Transportation’s website.
In an interview for NPR, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said that, as self-driving technology continues to be developed, he hopes that safety will remain a priority.
“The federal regulations clearly contemplate the deployment of all levels of cars, when they’re ready”, he said.
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Automakers sought the NHTSA guidance in part because they fear a patchwork of state laws will slow or complicate deployment of self-driving cars.
