California proposes drivers, steering wheels for driver-less cars

California on Wednesday unveiled proposed regulations for autonomous cars, a long-awaited step for vehicle companies seeking guidance before eventually selling them to consumers. They were shocked to discover the auto had no driver, and the incident raised concerns that new rules need to be drawn to monitor autonomous vehicle movements.

The regulations, which the DMV released on December 16, will establish the requirements that manufacturers must meet to certify that their autonomous and self-driving vehicles have been successfully tested, meet certain safety requirements, and are ready for the general public to operate on public roads. The tech giant has a finger in most pies, including search engines, Internet of Things (IoT) technology and security, and now connected cars are yet another potentially lucrative revenue stream. In an email to Automotive News, Google spokesman Johnny Luu said the company was “gravely disappointed that California is already writing a ceiling on the potential for fully self-driving cars to help all of us who live here”.

Google is now testing their self-driving cars around Austin. And by offering cars-even cars with steering wheels-for ride sharing, Google can at least stay in the game in California.

Some experts say that holding licensed drivers responsible for an autonomous vehicle might not make it safer.

California testing regulations took effect in September 2014 and 11 companies have permits to put driverless cars on public roads, as long as there is a licensed driver along for the ride. The New York Times reports that Google spokeswoman Courtney Hohne wrote in an emailed statement: “Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this”.

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.

The DMV will hold hearings on the proposed rules in January and February, and will consider making changes before they’re made final, Gonzalez said. It requires not only that a driver sit behind an actual steering wheel-unlike the most outré Google design, which has no steering wheel at all-but also that vendors lease rather than sell the cars to consumers. This includes Apple, which is rumoured to be developing driving technology for a reveal next year, and Tesla, whose chief executive Elon Musk recently revealed that his company wants to seek out “hardcore engineers” in an effort to develop self-driving cars. About three-quarters of them are owned by Google X and tested daily on trips around the company’s Mountain View headquarters.

However, the DMV said it would reassess the safety of fully-autonomous vehicles in the future.