Robot Cars

The current California regulations covering testing autonomous vehicles have set the standard for the nation by promoting innovation while protecting the safety of our highways.   Unfortunately, the Department of Motor Vehicles has proposed new rules covering testing of robot cars without steering wheels as well as the deployment of autonomous vehicles for public use.

The rules covering testing could be enacted with amendments, but the deployment rules are premature and should be withdrawn.

We now know a little bit more more about the Valentine’s Day crash of a Google self-driving robot car into a transit bus, but not because of anything Google or the Department of Motor Vehicles did.  That needs to change.