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What Will It Take To Make Automated Vehicles Legal In the US?

Posted by samzenpus on from the johnny-cab dept.

ashshy writes Tesla, Google, and many other companies are working on self-driving cars. When these autopilot systems become perfected and ubiquitous, the roads should be safer by orders of magnitude. So why doesn't Tesla CEO Elon Musk expect to reach that milestone until 2013 or so? Because the legal framework that supports American road rules is incredibly complex, and actually handled on a state-by-state basis. The Motley Fool explains which authorities Musk and his allies will have to convince before autopilot cars can hit the mainstream, and why the process will take another decade.

3 of 320 comments (clear)

  1. What will it take? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Automated vehicles that work?

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  2. A lot of bribes by nine-times · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Q: What Will It Take To Make Automated Vehicles Legal In the US?

    A: A lot of bribes for people at various levels of government.

    Wait, did I say "bribes"? Sorry, I meant "lobbying and campaign contributions". I have a hard time telling those things apart.

  3. A working automated vehicle by Hrrrg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Call me when they can make an automated car that car drive in snowy conditions when no lane landmarks are visible. Or one that can turn into a lane of busy traffic that currently requires you to make eye contact with another driver to get them to slow down and let you in. Then we can worry about legalizing it. Legalization is trivial compared to the technical challenges. Personally, I suspect that there won't be a truly automated cars in my lifetime.