Skip to main content

Federal Government Considering New Powers to Regulate Self-Driving Cars

The federal government doesn’t want to leave the issue of autonomous vehicle safety for states to decide, and may create new powers of oversight and approval for autonomous technology.

After president Barack Obama laid out his goals for the industry in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed yesterday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a set of voluntary guidelines to manufacturers today, asking them to prove their vehicles are safe before entering public roadways.

In the piece, Obama called for a “flexible” policy to ensure that autonomous vehicles conform to proper safety standards from state to state.

A new list of rules would provide “guidance that the manufacturers developing self-driving cars should follow to keep us safe,” Obama said. He added, “And we’re asking them to sign a 15-point safety checklist showing not just the government, but every interested American, how they’re doing it.”

That checklist would require manufacturers to provide information on vehicle testing, backup systems to prevent disaster in the event of a computer failure, crash safety and data recording.

In a press conference today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would seek to make the 15-point “safety assessment” mandatory via the regulatory process, Reuters reports.

Obama claimed that the new rules, which could eventually include the federal government’s ability to pull self-driving vehicles off the road if deemed unsafe, aim to bolster public confidence in the safety of the emerging technology. Autonomous vehicles have the power to improve mobility for seniors and the disabled, he said, as well as the “potential to create new jobs and render other jobs obsolete.”

Resources, job training, and — of course — regulations must be in place for the sector to grow, he claims.

Audi A4

The op-ed didn’t make it to a Pittsburgh paper by accident. Uber is aggressively developing autonomous driving technology in that city, employing a fleet of self-driving Volvos. Pittsburgh is the site of the inaugural White House Frontiers Conference on October 13, focusing on innovation.

Michigan remains ground zero for autonomous vehicle development, with the state Senate recently approving a series of bills designed to allow self-driving vehicles to operate on many roadways. Numerous automakers, some working alongside state government and post-secondary institutions, have created testing programs in that state. Ride-sharing companies and tech giants like Google are also involved.

If the federal government does take a bigger hand in the approval and regulation of self-driving vehicles, it would require the creation of a new regulatory apparatus.

In a conference call yesterday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said a premarket approval system “would require a lot more upfront discussion, dialogue and staffing on our part,” according to Reuters.

Foxx claimed the federal intervention in the sector aims to prevent a “patchwork” of state regulations concerning self-driving vehicles. He wants public and industry comment on whether the government should seek premarket approval power for autonomous technology.

This story first appeared on thetruthaboutcars.com.

The post Federal Government Considering New Powers to Regulate Self-Driving Cars appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2cL3JBR
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...