California says self-driving cars must have driver for now

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.

Specifically, the restrictions proposed by California regulators would make it mandatory for all self-driving cars to have a steering wheel and pedals, as well as a licensed driver behind the wheel.

A licensed driver with an autonomous vehicle operator certificate, issued by the California DMV, must be present in the vehicle at all times, “and must be capable of taking over immediate control in the event of an autonomous technology failure or other emergency”. Autonomous cars would also have to pass a test administered by a third party before being sold.

The regulations by the Department of Motor Vehicles are meant to help nurture the state’s nascent but fast-growing autonomous vehicle technology industry while allowing traditional auto companies and new entrants like Alphabet Inc and Apple Inc to safely deploy their self-driving cars already in development.

The search giant is set to create a stand-alone business for its vehicular activities in the new year under the umbrella of its Alphabet parent company.

The company said in July it was testing a fleet of 23 specially equipped Lexus prototypes, which had logged more than 1 million test miles. In September, the safety chief of its self-driving auto project, Ron Medford, said the technology is “close to working pretty damn well”. “Due to the size of these vehicles, DMV believes that public safety is best served by initially limiting deployment to passenger vehicles, “the law reads”.

Google insists that safety is its highest priority, says Google spokesman Johnny Luu.

While Google is gearing up its self-driving business plans, Uber itself is searching for ways to cut human drivers out of the equation.

The very concept of Google’s self-driving cars being completely autonomous is prevented simply by the stipulation now drafted by California’s DMV. 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. Some of these features allow detection of other cars in adjacent lanes, while other algorithms automatically apply breaks when a vehicle confronts a pedestrian or other object. There have been scattered collisions, almost all involving Google cars.