Self-driving cars now need a permit in California
Self-driving cars now need a permit in California
Posted: Sep 16, 2014 7:11 AM PDT
Updated: Sep 16, 2014 10:42 AM PDT
By JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Computer-driven cars have been testing
their skills on California roads for more than four years - but until now, the
Department of Motor Vehicles wasn't sure just how many were rolling around.
That changed Tuesday, when the agency issued testing
permits that allowed three companies to dispatch 29 vehicles onto freeways and
into neighborhoods - with a human behind the wheel in case the onboard
computers make a bad decision.
These may be the cars of the future, but for now they
represent a tiny fraction of California's approximately 32 million registered
vehicles.
Google's souped-up Lexus SUVs are the biggest fleet, with
25 vehicles. Mercedes and Volkswagen have two vehicles each, said Bernard
Soriano, the DMV official overseeing the state's "autonomous vehicle"
regulation-writing process. A "handful" of other companies are
applying for permits, he said.
The permits formally regulate testing that already was
underway. Google alone is closing in on 1 million miles. The technology giant
has bet heavily on the vehicles, which navigate using sophisticated sensors and
detailed maps.
Finally, government rules are catching up.
In 2012, the California Legislature directed the DMV to
regulate the emerging technology. Rules that the agency first proposed in
January went into effect Tuesday. Among them:
- Test drivers must have a sparkling driving record,
complete a training regimen and enroll in a program that informs their employer
if they get in an accident or are busted for driving under the influence off
hours.
- Companies must report to the state how many times their
vehicles unexpectedly disengage from self-driving mode, whether due to a
failure of the technology or because the human driver takes over in an
emergency. They also must have insurance or other coverage to pay for property
or personal injury claims of up to $5 million.
California passed its law after Nevada and Florida and
before Michigan. The federal government has not acted, and national regulations
appear to be years away.
It's impossible to know the total number of self-driving
cars being tested on public roads because, unlike California and Nevada,
Michigan does not require special permits to test self-driving cars on public
roads.
Toyota, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are "all
running around here with some form of autonomous vehicle," said James
Fackler, assistant administrator for the Michigan Department of State, which
registers motor vehicles. Carmakers do not need a permit - manufacturer's
license plates are enough, and those plates can also be used on future models
or other kinds of experimental cars.
Nevada has issued several test vehicle licenses to
Google, VW and the auto supplier Continental, according to its Department of
Motor Vehicles.
In Florida, only Audi has tested self-driving technology
and it is not ongoing, according to a spokesman for the state's motor vehicles
department.
With California's testing rules in effect, the DMV is
drafting regulations that will govern self-driving cars once they are ready for
the general public.
Those rules, which the DMV must finish by year's end,
will untie knotty issues such as whether a person needs to be in the vehicle at
all.
___
Pritchard can be contacted at
https://twitter.com/lalanewsman .
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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