[nfb-talk] Fw: Self-Driving Cars for Testing Are Supported by U.S..

[Ed Meskys]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Louis" <gosselin_louis at myfairpoint.net>
To: <edmeskys at roadrunner.com>
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 10:03 AM
Subject: Self-Driving Cars for Testing Are Supported by U.S..


Self-Driving Cars for Testing Are Supported by U.S..
NY Times Friday, 2013_05_31
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER and MATTHEW L. WALD; Claire Cain Miller reported from 
San
Francisco
and Matthew L. Wald from Washington. John M. Broder contributed reporting 
from
Washington
and Bill Vlasic from Detroit.. SAN FRANCISCO -- Companies from Silicon 
Valley to
Detroit to Germany are developing cars that park, steer and even drive
themselves.
Now the federal agency for traffic safety has said it wants to come along 
for
the
ride.
On Thursday, the Transportation Department made its first formal policy
statement
on autonomous vehicles. In a nonbinding recommendation to the states, it 
said
that
driverless cars should not yet be allowed, except for testing. But it said 
that
semiautonomous
features, like cars that keep themselves centered in lanes and adjust their
speed
based on the location of the car ahead, could save lives..
The statement, from the department's highway safety agency, comes as 
companies,
led
by Google, have made significant technological strides in making cars that 
drive
themselves, but still face daunting legal, regulatory and cultural hurdles
before
the cars are widely available to drivers. It is the latest example of the
tension
between technological innovation and regulation, which move at very 
different
speeds.
It is also a time of rapid change, and some anxiety, about autonomous 
systems in
general. The transportation department is struggling, for instance, to 
determine
how to regulate drone aircraft.
The statement detailed the benefits of self-driving and semiautonomous cars,
which
analysts said was a recognition by government officials that it had no 
choice
but
to keep up with the advancing technology in this area, which falls on a
continuum
from cruise control to full automation.
It's not that they're trying to put the brakes on it,' said Richard Wallace,
director
of transportation systems analysis at the Center for Automotive Research in 
Ann
Arbor,
Mich. They're trying to get out in front of it.
Still, the highway safety agency was careful to address the tension between
technology
and regulation.
Any potential regulatory action must appropriately balance the need to 
ensure
motor
vehicle safety with the flexibility to innovate,' it said.
Even though technology companies like Google generally fear that innovation 
far
outpaces
regulation and risks being stifled by it, it has a different approach with 
cars
than
with software or cellphones because cars have been heavily regulated for
decades,
said Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who 
co-founded
the
Legal Aspects of Autonomous Driving center at Stanford.
We want to have some experimentation in the states to see what works, but 
it's
nice
to have federal experts helping out, as long as they don't take it too far,' 
he
said.
Autonomous cars could increase safety because they are not subject to human
error
like disobeying traffic laws and falling asleep at the wheel, according to
analysts,
car companies and the transportation department. They could also offer 
mobility
to
people who cannot drive, like the disabled or the aging.
Driverless cars could 'change our lives, give us more green space, mobility,
fewer
hours wasted,' Larry Page, Google's chief executive, said this month. The
average
American spends 50 minutes commuting. Imagine if you got that back.
Still, many Americans are dubious about automated driving, according to a 
poll
by
the Auto Alliance, a Washington trade group that represents 12 of the 
largest
carmakers
selling vehicles in the United States. For instance, 81 percent said they 
were
concerned
that computer hackers could take control of an automated vehicle.
Even if automated cars were safer, people would worry about the lack of 
human
judgment,
Mr. Calo said.
The first time that a driverless vehicle swerves to avoid a shopping cart 
and
hits
a stroller, someone's going to write, 'robot car kills baby to save 
groceries,'
'
he said. It's those kinds of reasons you want to make sure this stuff is 
fully
tested.
Yet most people will have the option of buying a car that is part robot in 
some
sense
next time they visit a dealership. Vehicles ranging from German luxury cars 
to
mass-market
American sedans are now equipped with automated safety systems, which rely 
on
computer
processors, software and sensors.
Future models from Mercedes-Benz have radar systems that brake a car in the
event
of an impending collision, stay in its proper lane around curves and sense 
when
a
driver is fatigued. Ford Motor Company's midsize Fusion sedan has a 
lane-assist
system
that alerts drivers when they stray on the roadway. Many cars come with 
adaptive
cruise control that automatically cuts the speed when the distance between
vehicles
gets too close.
Greg Martin, a spokesman for General Motors, the largest American automaker,
said,
'G.M. has been working hard on autonomous vehicle technologies because we
believe
in its safety potential.
Google has gone the furthest, equipping Lexuses and Toyota Priuses with
technology
that drives the car without human intervention. Though Google still requires
people
to sit in the driver's seat, employees use the cars to commute the 40 miles
between
San Francisco and Mountain View, Calif., its headquarters, and have driven 
the
curves
of California State Route 1, a treacherous road overhanging the Pacific 
Ocean.
The
cars have driven more than a half million miles, according to the company.
The government's statement would likely not slow development of automated 
safety
systems, but regulators expressed discomfort with driverless cars like 
Google's,
which some people predict will be commercially available in less than a 
decade.
Self-driving vehicle technology is not yet at the stage of sophistication or
demonstrated
safety capability that it should be authorized for use by members of the 
public
for
general driving purposes,' the document said.
Leslie Miller, a Google spokeswoman, did not respond directly to the 
statement.
She
said Thursday, 'We are introducing autonomous vehicle technology to improve
people's
lives by making driving safer, more enjoyable and more efficient.
People in the driverless technology industry said the agency's caution about
self-driving
cars was reasonable.
You can't write regulations for something that is just getting into the
prototype
stage,' said Richard Bishop, who represents the Association of Unmanned 
Vehicle
Systems
International, a Washington trade association.
It is up to state and local governments to decide whether autonomous or
semiautonomous
cars are allowed on public roads. States including California, Nevada and
Florida
have already legalized driverless cars. They are not explicitly illegal in 
other
states, because there is no law that says cars must have drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issued the policy
statement
Thursday, has jurisdiction over the vehicles themselves.
Driverless car technology is not advanced enough to develop safety 
standards,
according
to the statement, which defined four levels of autonomous vehicles. It said 
it
was
beginning a four-year research project on how to safely use automation,
including
studies of how humans interact with the cars, the reliability of the 
technology
and
risks like cyberattacks.
The agency offered recommendations for the states, including requiring 
drivers
to
get special licenses to operate autonomous vehicles, cars to have a button
within
easy reach that returns control to the driver and companies to report 
detailed
data
on accidents.. PHOTOS: A self-driving car outside Google headquarters in
California.
(PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES) (B1); Top, an Audi A7 
driverless
car
in Israel. Above, a Lexus SL 600 Integrated Safety driverless research 
vehicle
was
on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year. 
(PHOTOGRAPHS
BY MOBILEYE'S; JULIE JACOBSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS) (B4).