California DMV Told Google Cars Still Need Steering Wheels

cartechboy writes Google showed us what it feels is the car of the future. It drives itself, it doesn't have a gas or brake pedal, and there's no steering wheel. But that last one might be an issue. Back in May California's Department of Motor Vehicles published safety guidelines aimed at manufacturers of self-driving vehicles. After seeing Google's self-driving car vision, the California DMV has told the company it needs to add all those things back to their traditional locations so that occupants can take "immediate physical control" of the vehicle if necessary. Don't for a second think this is a major setback for Google, as the prototypes unveiled weren't even close to production ready. While the DMV may loosen some of these restrictions in the future as well all become more comfortable with the idea of self-driving vehicles, there's no question when it comes down to the safety of those on the road.

Comments

Not surprising

[gurps_npc]

California is playing it safe. It will take a while for us to trust the software enough to remove the steering wheel.

In fact, it would not surprise at all if the brake itself is NEVER removed. I can easily foresee a situation where these vehicles are used to transport unwilling people, or simply undergo a malfunction and the occupant will always want the ability to stop the device.

But I can see the steering wheel and accelerator going away completely - don't want to let untrained people having the ability to make things worse.

Re:Not surprising

[rossdee]

"I agree, having a manual break should be required as a bare minimum."

A manual brake would be even more useful, along with a kill switch for the engine.

Re:Not surprising

[ShanghaiBill]

It's going to depend on who's allowed to use a self-driving car and under what conditions, and even so far as what seats are allowed to be occuppied.

Under California law, a licensed driver must be seated in the "driver's seat", and must be paying attention (no yacking on the cell phone). These requirements won't be permanent, but at least for the first few years of SDCs, that is how it will be. Once a safety record is established, and the pubic is more comfortable with the technology, the restrictions will be relaxed. In a decade or so, cars will likely be able to drive with no people on board, or even transport children with no adult in the car.

Backward-thinking by the DMV

[brunes69]

Any car that allows the driver to take "immediate physical control" makes the roads unsafer for all. The safest roads will be when ALL cars are autonomous. Having humans in the mix will just ruin all the gains that autonomous cars provide. Can a human wirelessly communicate with a car 5 miles ahead to know of a road condition and adjust it's speed in tandem with all the other cars in between to mitigate any and all danger in advance? Can a human react in sub-millisecond time to avoid obstacles thrown in their way. No and no.

Re:weakest link

[HornWumpus]

Eventually is a nice word. You can be completely wrong today but adding that one word...