US government presents policy for self-driving cars

The US Department of Transportation on Monday presented a new policy with guidelines for manufacturers of self-driving cars. The US government says it may want to grant advance approval for these types of vehicles in the future.

The government said it may want to create the power to grant this approval and examine techniques before they are used in traffic, Reuters reports. Individual states should also refrain from introducing deviating rules themselves, in order to avoid a ‘patchwork quilt of rules’. In his own piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, President Obama writes that he recognizes the safety of self-driving cars and that technology calls for flexible regulation. The presented policy is known as the ‘federal automated vehicles policy’ and includes a fifteen-point plan for car manufacturers.

This plan concerns voluntary guidelines that car manufacturers can adhere to. They contain objectives on safe design, development and testing. On the basis of this, car manufacturers can indicate how they meet the requirements on each of the points. Topics in the list include user privacy, collision protection, ethical dilemmas, anti-hacking measures, and how data is stored and shared.

In addition, the policy document contains an explanation of the division of powers between states and the federal government. A government spokesperson explains to the site Vox that the bottom line is that states have jurisdiction as long as people are behind the wheel and that the federal government has control over self-driving cars. For example, states remain competent when it comes to issuing driving licenses and registering vehicles.

However, pre-approving techniques, as opposed to voluntary certification by manufacturers, would still take time, according to the US government. For example, more preliminary discussion and staff are needed. The Ministry of Transport is also considering creating additional powers, such as stopping production when a car shows safety risks. Regulating software updates after a car has already been sold is also an option.

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