California passes driverless car bill
September 1, 2012
(Credit: iStockphoto)
Catching up with Nevada, it will be legal for autonomous cars to drive in California, probably within the next five years, if Gov. Brown signs SB 1298, just passed by the California Senate, the San Jose Mercury reports.
The bill charges the DMV by January 2015 with determining standards for vehicles and rules.
Automakers would have to get their vehicles approved by the state, and then licensed drivers would apply to become backup operators of approved autonomous cars.
Comments (16)
by Eric Hanson
actually this is pretty good… I saw a Lexus RX 450h rigged up with Google self-drive equipment the other day and it was actually driving itself through 880 traffic well enough I could not catch up. The technology of self-driving cars has hit 95% of a professional race car driver level… and just think about the “no more DUI’s” and the elegance of sipping martini on the way home from work!
of course like the massive orders for hollow-tips, all of the drones and electromagnetic and other fancy weapons aimed for use against us, trusting the automated car poses some problems since that same car you had planned to drive home from work, may reroute you to some detention facility or an arranged fatal “accident” in case the passive operator is deemed less than friendly to the goals of the State.
by Arn
Yay for robocars: This being the USA, drivers will finally be freer to practice
shooting with guns to kill…
by Hoss
I think that the surest sign that the Singularity has arrived will be when the population skyrockets. When vehicular homicide rates plummet, this will have a greater impact on life extension than even a cure for heart disease. It will be hard for any reasonable person to oppose the success of autonomous vehicle safety vs human controlled vehicles. We’ll see countless videos of rush hour blowouts and all surrounding cars adjusting around the potential accident at the speed of an airbag deploying.
by MrFriendly
Hm, I wonder how well the technology handles poor weather, such as iced roads or bridges.
In any case, it’s clear that this technology will save many, many lives, and make my commute to work much more pleasant. I still can’t believe the self-driving car is already here. Mind-blowing.
by Bri
Yea!!!! This will be such a godsend for the elderly. Some people should be forced by laws to seek these vehicles. I could see them being mandated for repeat DWI drivers and others that are a menace on the roadways.
by Bruce Wright
Possibly, especially for the elderly. I’m not so sure about DWI offenders, the problem with them would be that acute intoxication so seriously affects your judgement that they might think they could turn it off and still be OK.
by Editor
Yes, and according to one article, “The driver would still need to sit behind the wheel in case the robotic functions of the car suddenly fail and a real driver is needed.” http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_21428873/california-considers-accelerates-toward-driverless-highway-future (No source is cited, but this sounds logical, so should not be an exception for DWI offenders. Another article (sorry, not sure which one) mentioned that drivers would be allowed to text, which means they might not be alert enough to take manual control. I can see serious human factors problems in this nebulous man-machine interface. What do you think?
by Bri
I think of it in terms of the eventuality of it. I’ve said in other posts on this topic that pilots are needed in air planes, despite auto pilot. There will come a time when they are trusted beyond the capabilities of human drivers. As for DWI I have friends that really don’t drink that got caught and it ruined their lives. One never drank, he was at a family gathering and as he was leaving, they all toasted together. He was pulled over almost immediately after and had a high alcohol level, from the residue in his mouth. I know for a fact he doesn’t drink. Right now they have cars that have alcohol locks. This could be initially another level of security. There are quite a few alcoholics that defeat these locking system or drive other vehicles. Alcohol is an addiction. It’s very hard to break currently. This might help mitigate the publics expossure to this problem. Eventually when they are trusted beyond human capabilities it can very effective on a wide range of issues relating to impairment of judgement. I’m in no way saying that the first cars will alleviate this problem, but even sleeping pills have been implicated in sleep walking driving. A car is a lethal weapon. People fail to realize this all the time. You can be distracted just talking to another occupant. I love a good disscussion. Sometimes I like to write in a more provocative manner to get people to respond.
by Gabor
Yes, the time will come when we will trust machines beyond any doubt but it’s not gonna be an easy transition. We are skeptics by nature. Funny that you’ve mentioned autopilots because I happened to work in a major commercial aircraft producer on the most advanced commercial aircraft to date and I can say this: In 10-15 years the hardest thing to sell to passengers will be is why their aircraft has no pilots. In fact, I’m sure there will be “pilots” but all they will do is play Sudoku behind their locked doors the whole time as the aircraft wouldn’t let them take over even if they wanted to.
by Bri
I like your statement that the autopilot wont let them take over. Right now we have collission avoidance systems for cars. I think the transformation to autonomous cars will happen in stages. Collission avoidance is one that we play a key role. So many drivers just fall asleep, especially truck drivers. This in essence is the same as a drunk driver. If an accident is impending the car could assume control and not let the driver interfere. Also since MADD has been so effective at changing laws and view points, they could force the implementation of self driving cars that sense the condition of the driver. Maybe even sniff the air for alcohol or other impairing substances, to change modes from assist to assuming control. Even to the point of pulling over and parking. Particularly people who might be having a heart attack or other medical emergency. They could in theory driver to a hospital while calling ahead in a Suri type mode. That way alerting police and medical people of the specifics of the situation.
by Glen Lincoln
I can see serious human factors problems in allowing humans to get behind the wheel of an automobile.
by Ian Clarke
If self-driving cars still require a driver behind the wheel, wouldn’t that necessitate the driver being re-tested on a regular basis? I imagine driving skills will soon get rusty if only called upon in a crisis.
by Frank
By 2015, I don’t think texting will be an issue. “Talk to text” should be well developed by then.
by jon
They already have Talk to Text, its called making a cell phone call. They also have these cool wireless headsets that allow you to make a call without touching your phone.
by PirateRo
Actually, I look forward to playing World of Warcraft on long trips.
That whole part of both the design of the automobile and the need for me to be an extension of the vehicle instead of the vehicle being an extension of me is a ridiculous, unnecessary and unworkable diversion from the engineering that should have been included in vehicles 30 years ago.
by AutoCard
I think that is a really good question and feel you are dead on.
Maybe they should be considered Beta for 5 -10 (?) years before any driver could do anything else.
This could be a really big step for many people, we would have to develop entirely new skills.