Automakers and tech companies have complained to lawmakers that a growing “patchwork” of state laws is threatening to inhibit deployment.(Joan Lowy in Washington and Auto Writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed). States including Arizona, Michigan and Texas, also have hosted testing. Though some companies have experimented with cars that lack a steering wheel or pedals, those kinds of advances are likely several years beyond the first models. That is the same approach as human-driven cars, to which consumer advocates retort that such a huge leap in technology should require outside scrutiny before its public launch.Industry leader Waymo, as the former Google self-driving car program is known, is not commenting on its rollout schedule.
A Senate committee approved a similar measure last week by a voice vote. The reasons are both practical and about perception: The cars may still need a human backup to take control of emergencies, plus much of the public may not be ready to hand over total control to a machine. Major automakers like Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Nissan and Volvo have all said it will be closer to 2020 before those vehicles are available, and even then, they could be confined to ride-hailing fleets and other shared applications. The House has passed a bill that would permit automakers to seek exemptions to safety regulations, such as to make cars without a steering wheel, and allow the sale of hundreds of thousands of self-driving cars. The company is still testing the software and wont make it available to owners without regulatory seat cover factory approval.Tesla Inc.
That testing requires a trained safety driver behind the wheel, just in case the onboard computers and sensors fail.At the same time, in California alone, the 42 companies with testing permits have been logging hundreds of thousands of miles on nearly 300 prototypes with few crashes that were clearly the technologys fault. Its also possible, if not likely, that the technology will proliferate not as a car that one person owns but rather a shared vehicle that riders can summon with an app or subscription. Companies need to perfect the technology before unleashing it for regular drivers, and that means more of the highway and road testing that began several years ago. A public rollout is not imminent. It was a big step forward for regulations that were first discussed more than four years ago, first drafted in December 2015 and then substantially redrafted to accommodate companies concerns. Legislation intended to clear away federal regulations has moved quickly through Congress.
What should the public know about access?IS THE TECHNOLOGY SAFE?Safety is paramount, both as a selling point and a potential liability.Still, Californias Department of Motor Vehicles formally proposed rules Wednesday that starting next year will govern how everyday people in the trend-setting state can get robocars.Unlike earlier iterations of Californias regulations, the current proposal would follow the lead of the federal government, which wants to let companies self-certify the technology is road ready.WHEN WILL ANY OF THESE CARS BE AVAILABLE?Consumers probably wont be able to walk into a dealership and buy a fully driverless vehicle next year.Several other states also are vying to get these cars of the future into the hands of their residents.
WHAT WILL THE FIRST CARS LOOK LIKE?A lot like the cars on the road today.Although consumers cant yet get a self-driving car for themselves, the technologys long and windy road to market is getting shorter. says the cars its making now have the hardware they need for full self-driving. Traditional automakers and Silicon Valley upstarts are trying to teach cars to drive in different ways, but all agree that cars which dont drink, text, fall asleep or drive erratically can save thousands of lives lost to crashes. If the technology were reliably better than human drivers, however, it would be nearing a launch which most companies say is a few years away
Tags: car seat cover wholesale
gdfgvfdcb