California DMV wants to ban Google’s proposal for self-driving cars without

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is proposing a new set of rules for autonomous cars, since a lot more of them are making their appearance on public roads, in order to be tested in real driving conditions.

That means Google’s self-driving vehicle, complete with giant black button (to make it go) and giant red button (to make it stop in case of emergency), will be forbidden if the regulations stand as proposed.

Google officials, clearly frustrated, said they were “hoping to transform mobility” by making auto travel safer – they note that 94 percent of vehicle collisions are caused by driver error – and allowing people unable to drive to get around in cars.

Instead of being sold, self-driving cars could be leased for “approved deployment periods”, with performance and safety data regularly reported to the department.

The proposed regulations were announced following months of study by California’s DMV after the state’s legislature stated that it required the DMV to develop regulations for testing and the deployment of autonomous vehicles.

Google criticized the proposal in a statement to Automotive News, saying the company was “gravely disappointed” that California was “writing a ceiling on the potential for fully self-driving cars”. Car-riding app provider Uber is also aggressively pursuing the development of self-driving vehicles, as are numerous major automakers, including Daimler, Audi and BMW.

The DMV “did exactly what they should do, which is put the public safety first-and then take steps that promote the technology in a safe way”, said John Simpson, privacy project director at Consumer Watchdog and frequent Google critic.

However, the draft regulations essentially ban “driver-less” cars, by requiring a licensed operator to be present in the vehicles at all times. Drivers will also be responsible for any traffic violations.

Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, which calls itself “the birthplace of self-driving or autonomous vehicle technology”.

Google is not happy with the preliminary rules California issued Wednesday to regulate the production and sales of self-driving vehicles.

The DMV will hold further discussions with the public about the theoretical regulations in January and February.

“We just aren’t ready to take that driver out yet”, said Jessica Gonzalez, a DMV spokeswoman. Tesla and Nissan said they are now reviewing the draft regulations.