Gov. Jerry Brown rode to Google headquarters in a self-driving Toyota
Prius before signing legislation recently that will pave the way for
driverless cars in California. The bill by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla will establish safety and
performance regulations to test and operate autonomous vehicles on state
roads and highways.
"Today we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality —
the self-driving car," Brown said. "Anyone who gets inside a car and
finds out the car is driving will be a little skittish, but they'll get
over it."
Google Inc. has been developing autonomous car technology and
lobbying for the regulations. The company's fleet of a dozen
computer-controlled vehicles has logged more than 300,000 miles of
self-driving without an accident, according to Google.
"I think the self-driving car can really dramatically improve the
quality of life for everyone," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said. Autonomous cars can make roads safer, free commuters from the
drudgery of driving, reduce congestion and provide transport to people
who can't drive themselves, such as the blind, disabled, elderly and
intoxicated, he added. "I expect that self-driving cars will be far safer than human-driven cars."
Brin predicted that autonomous vehicles will be commercially
available within a decade. He said Google has no plans to produce its
own cars, but instead plans to partner with the automobile industry to
develop autonomous vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers expressed concern that
California is moving too quickly to embrace self-driving cars and needs
to first sort out liability issues. "Unfortunately this legislation lacks any provision protecting an
automaker whose car is converted to an autonomous operation vehicle
without the consent or even knowledge of that auto manufacturer," the
trade group said in a statement.
Autonomous cars use computers, sensors and other technology to
operate independently, but a human driver can override the autopilot
function and take control of the vehicle at any time. With smartphone-wielding drivers more distracted than ever, backers
say robotic vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce
collisions and traffic fatalities, noting that nearly all car accidents
are a result of human error.
The legislation requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles
to draft regulations for autonomous vehicles by Jan. 1, 2015. Currently,
state law doesn't mention self-driving cars because the technology is
so new. The regulations would allow vehicles to operate autonomously, but a
licensed driver would still need to sit behind the wheel to serve as a
backup operator in case of emergency.
The legislation also is aimed at keeping California at the forefront
of the autonomous car industry since Stanford University and Silicon
Valley companies have been working on the technology for years. In February, Nevada became the first U.S. state to approve
regulations spelling out requirements for companies to test driverless
cars on that state's roads.
Automakers such as Ford, Volvo, Audi, and BMW have been working on autonomous car technology for years. In recent years, automakers also have introduced precursors — autonomous
functions such as self-parking, lane departure warnings and adaptive
cruise-control — which allow vehicles to automatically accelerate and
decelerate with the flow of traffic.
