Google is not happy about the new driverless vehicle rules in California

As written, a human driver with a special “autonomous vehicle operator certificate” would have to be in the self-driving auto whenever it’s operational, and he or she would be responsible for anything that goes wrong.

Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this.

The proposed regulations, which will be subject to extensive public input before approval, amount to a historic initial step that could someday allow everyday motorists to travel in autonomous vehicles throughout the Golden State.

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 first draft of California’s proposed requirements for the public use of autonomous vehicles has been met with disappointment by Google.

The DMV is hosting two upcoming workshops, meant to gather input from industry, consumer and public interest groups, academics, and local motorists. “We want to get public input on these draft regulations before we initiate the formal regulatory rule making process”.

“The worrying thing would be a rush to regulation preemptively”, Chris Urmson, director of Google’s self-driving vehicle program, said at an event in November.

Under the proposed law, manufacturers of self-driving cars would be granted a three-year deployment permit, whereby they could lease cars to customers, but not sell them. As part of the licensing, they will be required to report regularly on the performance, safety and usage of their vehicles.

With regards to privacy and cyber-security, not only must manufacturers let the DMV know if any information is to be collected other than that required to safely operate their autonomous cars, they must also seek permission to collect the additional information. It said autonomous vehicles will be equipped with self-diagnostic capabilities that detect and respond to cyberattacks or “other unauthorized intrusions”. Google didn’t like the empowered-driver testing requirement either. If Google goes ahead with this plan than they might be faced with some serious competition such as Uber, who is also looking at the same kind of service.

Google’s frustration with the agency has been growing for some time. 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”.

Fully autonomous vehicles aren’t ready for prime time, as far as California’s Department of Motor Vehicles is concerned. Eventually, however, average drivers and residents will be whisked around in these vehicles, so California regulators need to make sure they’re as safe as possible. Southern Californians are invited to the Junipero Serra Building in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2.