As driverless cars get closer to commercial reality, it becomes more and more obvious that some sort of regulation has to be put in place, as soon as possible. With the likes of Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Toyota, in addition to Google, planning to introduce a self-driving car to the market by 2020, some sort of legal framework needs to be created, to regulate the manufacturing and use of these vehicles. There are many issues that have to be resolved, before self-driving cars can hit the roads, so that consumers, law enforcement, and insurance companies can prepare for the major changes.
Driverless Cars in California
California was one of the first states to permit the use of driverless cars on public roads for testing purposes, and has been at the forefront of the autonomous car industry ever since Google started testing its driverless car. Now, California is taking more steps to facilitate the adoption of these vehicles, trying to finish driverless car rules by the end of 2104, so that all the issues that are related to driverless cars are cleared before they are launched commercially. Determining legal responsibility for an accident involving a self-driving car, as well as protecting people’s privacy rights in light of potential abuse of data collection, are some of the most pressing issues that California lawmakers have to address. The state has already enacted a law in 2012, that requires the DMV to establish safety regulations for the use of autonomous cars.
The DMV has to write the rules by June, which is when legislators will start reviewing suggestions and exhibit the rules for public feedback. Then, the state will return them to the DMV, to make potential changes and modifications of the rules, and finalize them by January 2015.
Driverless Car Workshop for Safety and Regulation
That’s why the California DMV set up a workshop recently, where the general public, as well as representatives of the auto industry and privacy advocacy groups, were invited, for a discussion about the future of transportation after driverless cars are launched. Some of the world’s largest car makers, such as Mercedes, Chrysler, and Volkswagen, attended the workshop, along with representatives from Google, and Consumer Watchdog, which is a non-profit organization which focuses on protecting consumers’ privacy rights. The main questions that were raised at the workshop concerned safety standards for self-driving cars, such as whether a special driver’s license should be required, who would be held responsible in case of an accident, and how consumer privacy will be protected.
Concerns Over Driverless Cars
Bernard Soriano, the Chief Information Officer at the California DMV, said that the most significant question for them is whether they should require a driver to be behind the wheel of a driverless car at all times, and the answer is that at the beginning, someone will have to be in the driver’s seat so that they can take control if the autonomous driving technology fails, but further down the road, as technology advances, there won’t be a need for that.
Consumer Watchdog, are concerned about whether these regulations will protect privacy, and insist that users will have to be able to control what kind of data is collected by automakers, and how that information will be used. Soriano addressed these concerns by saying that legislators will have to determine who will be the owner of that information, and whether it will be used for purposes other than the operation of the vehicle.
Representatives from tech giant Google wanted to know who will be in charge of certifying self-driving cars, and who will guarantee that they are safe and fit to be operated on public roads.
As far as licensing is concerned, John Tillman of Mercedes-Benz suggested that there is no need for special licenses, but said that the DMV could teach owners how to start and stop the automated driving option before they are allowed to operate a self-driving car.
It’s clear that there are numerous safety, legal, and security issues surrounding driverless cars, and the California DMV hopes that it will be able to resolve them before they are commercially available, and establish rules that will keep both consumers and developers of autonomous driving technology happy, which is not an easy task to do.
Until these vehicles are released, make sure that you are getting the best possible insurance rates on your current car.