California sets rules for self-driving cars

It would require a licensed driver behind the wheel once the agency is satisfied self-driving cars are safe.

On Wednesday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles presented a draft of rules that it will use to oversee consumer use of self-driving cars. They are subject to public comment and will not be final for months.

The latest prototypes the company is testing in California and Austin, Texas, have no steering wheel or pedals. On Wednesday, a company spokesman said Google was “gravely disappointed” by the draft rules. The first will take place at 10 a.m. on January 28 at the Harper Alumni Center at California State University, Sacramento.

Under the draft rules, even if Google thinks its vehicle is ready for sale, that wouldn’t be immediately possible.

The public will also not be allowed to purchase fully autonomous vehicles; rather, they would have to lease a vehicle from the company behind the auto.

The proposed regulations require certification and third-party testing for carmakers, as well as regular reports back to the DMV for a period of three years. Manufacturers must disclose to the operator if information is collected, other than the information needed to safely operate the vehicle.

Those restrictions could steer manufacturers elsewhere to develop the technology.

CYBERSECURITY AND DATA PRIVACY: Drivers would have to agree to let manufacturers collect data “that is not necessary for the safe operation of the vehicle”.

California has grappled for several years with how to regulate the technology. Boosters say the technology could prevent numerous more than 32,000 deaths on US roads each year. Most autonomous cars use LIDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors on the roof to produce an accurate, laser scan of the surroundings. Many also rely on maps that detail everything from curb heights to the exact placement of lane stripes. Eleven companies have been approved to test robot cars on California’s highways. In 2012, Google published a YouTube video demonstrating that a self-driving vehicle could transport a blind man to pick up his dry cleaning. Those collisions have been minor and the tech giants says each has been caused by other drivers, not its technology.

Electric auto company Tesla Motors and Ford are among the other companies with a permit to test vehicles on California roads, and ride-hailing service Uber has been busy hiring autonomous auto engineers for its new lab in Pittsburgh. Data from that testing will be used to inform future regulation, the DMV said. By extension of that rule, the department won’t allow the public use of any cars that are capable of driving themselves without a human behind the controls.

Google wants to move from current testing on the streets around its Silicon Valley headquarters to broader adoption.

A Google self-driving vehicle goes on a test drive near the Computer…

Google believes the safest path is to take people out of the equation by having control limited to stop and go buttons, with the leader of Google’s project saying that humans are “the bug” in the driving task. Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this.

At least one consumer group is standing behind the DMV’s proposal. As a result, the regulations are almost a year overdue.