Google Tells Law Makers Self Driving Cars Should Be Exempt From Many Safety Features Because It Is The Driver That Needs Them

U.S. vehicle safety regulators have said the artificial intelligence system piloting a self-driving Google car could be considered the driver under federal law, a major step toward ultimately winning approval for autonomous vehicles on the roads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc of its decision in a previously unreported Feb. 4 letter to the company posted on the agency's website this week.

Google's self-driving car unit on Nov. 12 submitted a proposed design for a self-driving car that has "no need for a human driver," the letter to Google from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Chief Counsel Paul Hemmersbaugh said.

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PUGPROUD - 3/15/2016 4:09:04 PM

+1 Boost

Strange as it sounds I believe one of the unintended consequences of autonomously driven cars is that consumers will demand even more safety systems than today. Giving up control will make people feel extremely vulnerable and demand more safeguards to reassure them that their well being has not been compromised. Remember when we were told that computers would make us a paperless society...how did that work out?

TheSteve - 3/15/2016 6:27:20 PM

0 Boost

Rather than embracing the principle of "loosening up driving requirements for autonomous systems," I recommend we address individual examples and see if each one applies to autonomous cars. Examples:

1) Signals: Vehicle must use signal lights in the prescribed manner to indicate the intention of a lane change or turn. Applies to humans and autonomous system.

2) Stop sign: This might be up for review. IF autonomous systems can prove to be 100% reliable, and they can always and accurately determine that no humans or vehicles are present at or approaching an intersection that has a Stop sign, then we might change the law to allow autonomous vehicles to simple slow down and not come to a complete stop under these conditions. The big question is do we trust autonomous systems to be 100% correct and reliable in this specific situation?

MDarringer - 3/15/2016 10:24:51 PM

-8 Boost

Here's a thought: How about making getting a driver's license much more difficult than having a pulse? How about requiring real training?

Here's another thought: Require that phones be jammed from texting inside a car.

TomM - 3/18/2016 6:37:55 PM

+1 Boost

So - tell me again why a person who is in the Left FRONT SEAT of a car - but not driving it - does not need frontal crash protection - or seat belts - or air bags? I would think they need at least the same protection that a person sitting in the Right Side seat. And since it is unlikely that self driving cars will be an option ALL the TIME - I cannot see why the cars should not have the same equipment as other cars do.