In California, driverless cars must have a driver

Regulators in California have published draft proposals created to pave the way for the public to start using self-driving cars on the roads.

The regulations are meant to provide the groundwork for laws that would help promote the development of autonomous vehicles in California and transition potential manufacturers such as Google, whose self-driving auto is undergoing testing on public streets in the state, from testing to selling the cars to the public. Instead, manufacturers would receive a permit for three years, during which time consumers could lease the cars but manufacturers would be required to keep tabs on how safely they are driving and report that performance to the state.

Austin’s mayoral spokesman Jason Stanford said his city’s government believes self-driving cars are “legal and safe” already and that the city is “thrilled to host innovative ideas like this”.

Consumer Watchdog, a Los Angeles-based consumer advocacy group that has been petitioning the DMV to take a methodical approach to the regulations and avoid pressure from vehicle makers, says it is generally happy with the proposed rules. “We want to get public input on these draft regulations before we initiate the formal regulatory rule making process”. In not too long they could also be contending with robotic cars owned by Google.

Though no manufacturer has said it thinks the cars are ready just yet, at least a dozen are developing the technology. Many of the Google cars are capable of operating completely driverless for most of each journey but employees are still capable or taking over should there be a problem.

Jean Shimoto, director of the DMV, said: “The primary focus of the deployment regulations is the safety of autonomous vehicles and the safety of the public who will share the road with these vehicles”.

The DMV could then tackle regulations for cars with no driver inside.

Another 10 automakers are also part of the DMV’s program, including Ford, which announced its driverless vehicle plans yesterday. You’d use an app to order a vehicle, and it would drive itself over.

Before the adoption, the DMV has scheduled public meetings where these rules would be debated, set to take place on January 28 and February 2, 2016. But that, as with all technology, is expected to improve with more research.

Sameer Garde appointed early this month as Vice President and General Manager at HPE India has quit the tech giant.