Calif. Proposes Self-Driving Car Laws That Would Require a Driver Behind the (Non-Existent?) Wheel

Jennifer van der Kleut

Earlier this week, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV) announced proposed laws to regulate self-driving cars-and those laws have many in the industry smacking their heads in frustration.

The part of the proposed regulations that is frustrating companies trying to get their autonomous car divisions off their feet-Google, Ford, Tesla, Delphi and others-is the sentence that requires that a licensed driver “to be present inside the vehicle and be capable of taking control in the event of a technology failure or other emergency.”

High-profile executives such as Google’s Chris Urmson, head of its self-driving car division, say California just effectively set back the progress of technology at least five years, CNBC reports.

“This maintains the same old status quo and falls short on allowing this technology to reach its full potential, while excluding those who need to get around but cannot drive,” Urmson wrote in an online blog post Thursday.

It’s not difficult to see how this would upset Google, as the company’s famous pod-shaped test cars are known for not having a steering wheel or pedals.

Others in the industry will surely lament the word “licensed” in the proposed law. Countless industry analysts, commentators and bloggers have publicly declared again and again that once self-driving cars are mainstream, foreign tourists, underage children, the disabled and the elderly will be able to enjoy increased mobility without having to maintain or own a driver’s license.

CNBC reports that two other requirements in the proposed regulations include third-party testing of vehicles and that manufacturers must alert car operators to a cyber attack.

CNBC reports that two public forums on the proposed laws will take place sometime next year.