The Obama administration Thursday announced plans to pour nearly $4 billion into developing self-driving cars over the next decade, touting the technology’s potential to prevent accidents and save lives.
And, in a nod to Google, federal officials hinted that they may not require autonomous cars to have a human driver behind the steering wheel. Or even have a steering wheel at all.
“We are on the cusp of a new era in automotive technology with enormous potential to save lives, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and transform mobility for the American people,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, speaking at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Flanked by representatives from Google, Tesla Motors and other automakers, Foxx said the money would pay for real-world testing of Internet-connected vehicles in several “designated corridors” throughout the country. More importantly, he said that federal officials would work with industry and state regulators to create uniform policies that can guide the rollout of robot cars nationwide.
For the companies involved — both established automakers like General Motors and newcomers like Google — that’s key. They dread facing a patchwork of state-level regulations with different requirements.
Google’s complaints
They also want room to experiment. Late last year, California proposed requiring autonomous cars to behind the wheel, even when the car is driving itself. That drew , whose bubble-shaped, prototype robot car didn’t even include a steering wheel or brake pedal until state regulators insisted.Federal officials appear to be more open to Google’s approach. On Thursday, transportation officials said they would work to ensure that autonomous cars, “including those designed without a human driver in mind,” can be deployed en masse once proven safe.
“Fully autonomous vehicles have the potential to save lives, so we welcome the secretary’s commitment to removing barriers that may prevent them from sharing the roads when they’re ready,” Google spokesman Johnny Luu said. The company has been testing its robot cars on the streets of Mountain View and Austin, Texas, for years, logging more than 1.3 million miles of autonomous driving.
Tough state rules
Of course, some California regulations are tougher than their federal counterparts — meaning steering wheels and brake pedals may have to come standard in Google’s bubble cars. But Foxx appears to be trying to negotiate a unified approach that will satisfy state regulators and automakers alike.There’s no guarantee that Congress will approve the money President Obama wants. And whoever succeeds him in office may not embrace self-driving cars.
But Foxx has thrown his department’s weight behind the new technology. He has repeatedly insisted that the federal government should speed up deployment of autonomous vehicles — or at least not get in their way. He touts them as a means to ease traffic, cut fuel use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent accidents. And he wants them built in the United States.
On Thursday, Foxx said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would propose model state regulations within the next six months. His staff will also work with automakers to reinterpret existing regulations that could impede autonomous car tests or grant exemptions to those regulations where appropriate.
“In plain English, this means we are going to do everything we can to advance safe, smart and sustainable transportation innovations like vehicle automation,” on the department’s blog. “This is an exciting time in vehicle innovation, and we will be working hard to make sure we protect Americans’ safety while supporting innovators.”
Although some drivers view self-driving technology with suspicion, early versions are already filtering into the marketplace. Tesla Motors’ luxury electric cars feature an Autopilot mode that can steer itself at freeway speed and, with updates introduced this week, park the car in a garage after the driver has already stepped out. Teslas capable of driving themselves across the country — and recharging themselves along the way — may be two years away, CEO Elon Musk said.
System bugs
But the technology is not yet foolproof. Google this week reported that since September 2014, drivers in its test fleet of autonomous cars have had to take control of the vehicles 341 times, either because the vehicles’ programming detected a problem or because the drivers feared a possible collision.©2016 the San Francisco Chronicle Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
