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The Feds Will Have Rules for Self-Driving Cars in the Next 6 Months, Called “Aggressive and Ambitious” U.S. highway safety officials plan to take several steps this year to clear the way for autonomous vehicles—including those designed to operate without a driver—to hit the streets in large numbers. U.S. Transportation Secretary Illinois Secretary of TransIndiana Missouri portation Anthony Iowa Nebraska Foxx Northannounced Dakota Kansas the moves Ohio at the Kentucky Detroit auto show, Michigan South Dakota part of an effort Minnesota Wisconsin to Anthony Foxx remove the obstacles posed by current auto safety reg-
Midwestern Edition
VOL. 6 ISSUE 11 FEBRUARY 2016
Google Seeks Help From Automakers For Its Autonomous Car Project
The search engine giant’s autonomous ulations, many of which were written automobile, also known as the Google more than 50 years ago. self-driving car project, has been getFoxx also announced that Presiting smarter and safer as the company dent Obama has proposed spending further develops it. However, seeing nearly $4 billion on autonomous vehithat there is no such thing as too safe cle pilot projects as part of the presiwhen it comes to the traffic, Google is dent’s broader effort to upgrade the seeking some help from traditional country’s transportation infrastructure. automobile manufacturers. Foxx announced that he’s giving ‘We are going to need a lot of the DOT six months to draft comprehelp, and In the next stages of our hensive rules governing how auproject, we’re going to be partnering tonomous cars should be tested and more and more for sure,’ said head of regulated. The feds are also planning to Google’s self-driving car project and www.autobodynews.com fund new projects: President Obama’s former Hyundai CEO John Krafcik 2017 budget proposal includes nearly at the Automotive News World ConSee Federal Rules, Page 12
gress. ‘We hope to work with many of you guys.’ This may also confirm previous reports that the search engine giant is partnering with reputable automaker Ford in making a self-driving car. Should the reported deal pushes through, reports claim that Ford would be developing the basic software as well as components, and Google, on the other hand, will be focusing on the car’s “smarts” while the manufacturing difficulties will be offloaded to a company that is expert on the field. According to a report submitted
In a statement on December 16, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said the agency’s main concern is “the
car crashes and improve the mobility of people who currently cannot drive. “Safety is our highest priority and primary motivator as we do this,” spokesman Johnny Luu wrote in an email. ”We’re 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.” The proposal stems from a law, passed in 2012 by California legislators, ordering the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to issue rules for the testing and use of autonomous vehicles. The DMV already has completed testing rules that require experimental vehicles to be operated by trained test
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See Google Seeks Help, Page 6
California DMV Proposes Ban on Cars With No Drivers, All Vehicles to be Steerable, Google Objects
safety of autonomous vehicles and the safety of the public who will share the road with these vehicles.”
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
California regulators, calling for caution on self-driving cars, on December 16 proposed rules that would sharply restrict their use on the state’s roads—and place an outright ban on “driverless” cars that travel with no humans onboard. Under the proposal by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, all autonomous cars would need a steering wheel and pedals when operating on California’s public roads. Behind the controls, they would need a licensed driver with an “autonomous vehicle operator certificate” capable of taking control if something goes awry.
Change Service Requested
by Gabe Nelson, Auto News
Google impact The rules, if finalized, could prompt technology companies such as Google, and automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and Tesla, to look beyond California for their first deployment of self-driving cars. This summer, Google started testing its selfdriving cars in Austin, Texas, where a culture of businessfriendly regulation could make it easier to introduce the technology to the public. In the December 16 statement, Google decried the proposal, saying California’s rules would hold back a technology with the potential to prevent
See California DMV Proposes, Page 4
The Guilt of the Self-Driving Car
Whew! Made it home from the body shop before my owner found out.
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