Skip to main content

Audi Applauds the Passage of the SELF DRIVE Act

Congress did something rare yesterday, and by that of course we mean anything. This particular thing was the passage of the SELF DRIVE act, an important step towards bringing autonomous cars onto the road, and Audi is pleased as punch.

“Today, the U.S. House of Representatives took a decisive step to create a new automated vehicle framework aimed at unlocking mobility options for generations to come,” said Brad Stertz, Director of Audi Government Affairs in Washington, D.C. in a statement.

The bill is only the first step towards bringing autonomous cars to the public and the Senate will also have to have a say, but the broad, bipartisan support of the bill is promising for manufacturers looking to bring autonomy, like Audi.

The bill gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) power to regulate vehicle design and requires automakers to carefully consider how to keep data gathered from autonomous vehicles private.

Audi A8 L

Most importantly for the short term future of autonomy, though, is that it allows NHTSA to grant more exemptions to the current rules. Currently, NHTSA can only grant 2,500 exemptions per year, meaning that only that many autonomous cars (without brake pedals, steering wheels, or humans) can currently test on public roads. Under the new rules, NHTSA will be able to grant up to 100,000 exemptions in three to four years.

Audi recently revealed its new A8, which it claims is the first truly autonomous car. The car still requires a human to be behind the wheel but allows them to take their focus off the road for extended periods of time.

Despite the car having that capacity, Audi can’t actually turn the feature on yet because the lack of regulation means that European and American governing bodies aren’t willing to approve it. With the passage of this act, it looks like Americans might be one step closer to reading a book as their A8 whisks them down the road.

“With the overwhelming passage of the Self Drive Act and legislation under consideration in the U.S. Senate,” said Stertz, “Congress is taking the initiative to ensure America remains the leading innovator of technologies that can positively transform our cities, benefit the disadvantaged and – most important of all – ensure greater safety on our roads.”

The post Audi Applauds the Passage of the SELF DRIVE Act appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2eJIbD3
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Mitsubishi , Fuel Efficiency , Japan Mitsubishi says its shady fuel-economy test practices may have been used on all vehicles it sells and has sold in Japan. Continue reading Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2016 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/21X3bHv
Post a Comment
Read more

More 3.0-Liter TDI Settlement Details Expected by January 31

Volkswagen and the TDI Plaintiff’s Steering Committee were in court today for another status conference following the agreement in principal reached earlier this week. Little new information was given at the conference held before Judge Charles Breyer today, but the court ordered the parties to develop a formal settlement agreement, class action notices, and a class notice plan by January 31, 2017. For now, though, owners still don’t know how much to expect in compensation. Elizabeth Cabraser, lead Counsel for the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee reaffirmed in a statement today that the compensation would be “substantial.” The potential cost to Volkswagen is widely reported to exceed $1 billion, though, with an additional $225 million going into an environmental trust to help offset excess emissions. Buy back offers are still only expected for the oldest 20,000 of the roughly 80,000 VW Group vehicles sold in America with the 3.0-liter TDI engine. Those vehicles are mostly SUVs, like ...
Post a Comment
Read more