{"id":2523,"date":"2013-12-20T02:24:36","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T07:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roadtrafficsigns.com\/blog\/?p=2523"},"modified":"2024-07-10T08:30:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T12:30:22","slug":"self-driving-cars-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roadtrafficsigns.com/blog\/self-driving-cars-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-driving cars: Are Americans ready to give the keys to a computer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does the idea of a self-driving car inspire more dread or relief with you? Some drivers are afraid of relinquishing control of the vehicle to a computer. Those in favor of autonomous vehicles say that the\u00a0benefits<\/a>\u00a0– in terms of accidents, fuel, congestion, and dollars – are immense.<\/p>\n

Under a pilot program,\u00a0Volvo and the Swedish government are partnering to bring 100 driverless cars<\/a>\u00a0to Sweden\u2019s roads. At the same time, all 50 states in the U.S. have the authority to decide how to treat autonomous vehicles within their borders, so matters are more complicated in America.<\/p>\n

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Google’s self-driving car. Image by Saad Faruque<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Different states are at different stages<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

The District of Columbia and 17 states including California, Nevada, and Florida have begun preparing for\u00a0driverless cars with legislation<\/a>. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA<\/a>) says that states should leave safety standards on federal regulators.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

“We can’t build different cars for each state, based on different standards,” says<\/a> Dan Gage, director of communications for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents 12 large auto manufacturers including General Motors and Toyota.<\/p>\n

The laws only permit companies to test their autonomous vehicles on private roads and then on public roads. Later, once it’s commercially feasible and the technology has been proven, the states and the U.S. Department of Transportation are expected to pen laws permitting a citizen to operate an autonomous vehicle.<\/p>\n

Legislating autonomous vehicles is challenging<\/b><\/h2>\n

Many knotty issues confront state legislators. “The first one that popped into my mind was DUI and drunk driving. Are you impaired if you are drunk and just programming the vehicle?” says Senator Mike Kowall, primary sponsor of Michigan\u2019s autonomous vehicles bill, which was approved recently.<\/p>\n

Most states assume that a driver is in control of the vehicle and laws are written accordingly. All such laws will require reviewing, which looks like a tall order, given that most states\u2019 vehicle codes have over 40,000 provisions that will have to be revisited.<\/p>\n

Autonomous vehicles will also impact city planning. A shuttle system could become a reality in most places. This Volvo project (\u201cDrive Me\u201d) in Sweden also aims to show the infrastructure<\/a>\u00a0that will be required once thousands of self-driving cars are on the roads:<\/p>\n

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