Obama administration planning to speed up development of self-driving cars

The White House will reportedly announce efforts to speed up the development of self-driving cars on Thursday, something that may be of extreme interest to Apple as it readies its own such vehicle.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will make an appearance in Detroit to talk about the Obama administration's plans, Reuters said. Google, perhaps the best-known developer of self-driving cars, has said it will particpate in the event. The company already has prototypes driving around public roads in Mountain View, Calif. and Austin, Tex., albeit with humans onboard as a backup. Apple and most others have yet to reach that step.

Detroit automakers are also likely to be involved in the announcement.

The creation of self-driving cars has been mired by the lack of a consistent legal framework. U.S. laws aren't well-equipped to address the new technology, and where regulations do exist, they can vary from state to state, making testing in some places difficult or impossible.

In December, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration head Mark Rosekind promised a "nimble, flexible" approach to creating related rules.

The first consumer-oriented self-driving vehicles are typically thought to be years out. Apple's electric car, for instance, isn't expected to arrive until at least 2019 or 2020, and even then the first model might still be human-driven.

31 Comments

thewhitefalcon 4444 comments · 10 Years

About 8 years ago

Government, nimble and flexible. Those terms are mutually exclusive.

spice-boy 1450 comments · 8 Years

I wonder if these new cars will have the capability of "road rage"? This may also mean no more DUIs so less court and law enforcement cost. People with no drivers license (as myself) can now buy or rent a car? Since all responsibility for operation of the vehicle will no longer be of the "driver" accidents and deaths will be solely upon the heads of the manufacturer such as Apple?

mr. me 3219 comments · 22 Years

spice-boy said:

I wonder if these new cars will have the capability of "road rage"? This may also mean no more DUIs so less court and law enforcement cost. People with no drivers license (as myself) can now buy or rent a car? Since all responsibility for operation of the vehicle will no longer be of the "driver" accidents and deaths will be solely upon the heads of the manufacturer such as Apple?

If your self-driving car has an accident because you failed to maintain it or were otherwise negligent, then you may rest assured that you will be held liable.

frank777 5762 comments · 22 Years

Having a government department tasked to "speed up" development of an emerging technology is tantamount to ensuring serious first-generation issues.

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

mr. me said:

spice-boy said:

I wonder if these new cars will have the capability of "road rage"? This may also mean no more DUIs so less court and law enforcement cost. People with no drivers license (as myself) can now buy or rent a car? Since all responsibility for operation of the vehicle will no longer be of the "driver" accidents and deaths will be solely upon the heads of the manufacturer such as Apple?

If your self-driving car has an accident because you failed to maintain it or were otherwise negligent, then you may rest assured that you will be held liable.

Car companies are starting to prepare for a future when many people no longer buy or lease a car, they "summon" a self-driving car. This behavior is likely being driven by both Millennials (who prefer not to own things) and Boomers (whose capabilities as they age are deteriorating in massive numbers).

Having said this, there's no frickin' reason for the Federal government to be involved in this. I smell protectionism at the insistence of Google.