Companies Working on Self-Driving Cars Won’t Be Happy About New California

A consumer group is applauding California regulators for draft rules that require a licensed driver be behind the wheel once self-driving cars are ready for the public.

Whoa, Nelly, the California Department of Motor Vehicles told self-driving auto developers Wednesday.

The proposed rules would also prohibit the sales of self-driving cars, which manufacturers would only be able to lease out or give to users.

Technology giant Google, which has been developing some autonomous vehicles without steering wheels or pedals, expressed “grave disappointment” at the new rules, according to the Associated Press.

Plus, manufacturers will be barred from installing features to allow cars to drive themselves to parking lots after dropping passengers off at their destination. But questions remain about whether it’s really an effective safety measure to put licensed driver’s behind the wheel of autonomous cars. An independent testing organization would have to verify those claims through a “vehicle demonstration test” of the car’s “ability to perform key driving maneuvers that are typically encountered in real-world driving conditions”.

The first ever regulations for self-driving cars rolled out of California on Wednesday – and Google is very displeased.

Bloomberg reports that Google is planning to turn its autonomous vehicle team into a standalone company, with the potential to take on Uber.

Thilo Koslowski, Vice President and Automotive Practice Leader at Gartner Inc., commented on how despite 1 in 3 American consumers being interested in buying autonomous cars in the future, most are afraid of the concept not functioning properly and thereby losing control of the vehicle.

Under the new rules, initial permits for self-driving cars would be for three years, and the manufacturers would need to prove that their autonomous cars are safe.

Luu said that Google’s top priority is safety, too, and that the driverless cars aim to reduce the number of accidents caused by human error.

The DMV will hold public workshops regarding the drafts in Sacramento on January 28 and in Los Angeles on February 2, 2016.

Though the result of more than a year of deliberation, the draft regulations must undergo months of review before they are set.

“The fundamental challenge is finding the right balance between protecting public safety and encouraging technology innovation”. The cars have been involved in more than a dozen fender-benders, though the tech firm argues that they are being hit by drivers who are distracted and not paying attention to the roads.

The draft also adds requirements for manufacturers to ensure that vehicles are protected from cyber attacks.