UK Government Releases Rules To Get Self-Driving Cars Onto Public Roads

rippeltippel writes: Ars Technica UK reports that the UK government has released the rules to get self-driving cars onto public roads. As the article reports, drivers will be required to have "a high level of knowledge about the technology used" (i.e. they'll be techies) and — most notably — will have to mimic the act of driving, to avoid confusing other drivers. The original PDF can be viewed here.

Comments

"Mimic the act of driving"?

[jeffb (2.718)]

This actually reminds me of the Red Flag Laws that were passed when automobiles first began appearing. Because, obviously, the most important thing for an automobile is to avoid spooking the livestock, er, human drivers for whom the roads are really intended.

I hope I live to see the day when driving manually on a public road is viewed the same way as herding livestock or riding a horse on a public road -- quaint and interesting, but mostly disruptive, and almost never actually done.

Re:"Mimic the act of driving"?

[Joce640k]

I want to know when old-fashioned human drivers will be held to the same driving standards as the ones proposed in that document.

Re: "Mimic the act of driving"?

[BasilBrush]

They are perfectly sensible regulations.

but don't require that driver to pretend to be driving.

The regulations don't say that. They say precisely this:
"Test drivers and operators should be conscious of their appearance to other road users, for example continuing to maintain gaze directions appropriate for normal driving."

It's a perfectly reasonable requirement. A "driver" not looking where the car is going, or doing some other bizarre action would distract and alarm other road users. And such distraction could cause an accident.

Note also that these are not rules for production autonomous vehicles, when the public might be more aware of what's going on. They are for test-drivers, at a time when many people won't be aware of the tests.

As usual the real stupidity is in the Slashdot summary and the knee-jerk reaction of some posters.

Up to date

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

and — most notably — will have to mimic the act of driving, to avoid confusing other drivers

"When an automobile approaches an intersection, the driver shall exit the automobile and stand in the intersection waving a lit lantern for 30 seconds, looking down each road, and blowing a loud horn, all so as to alert gentlemen on horses and peaceful ladies that they not be startled.

"Once this is done and the road clear, the automobile may be walked through the intersection. After the automobile is through, the driver shall remove his overcoat, jacket, shirt, and that thing that always flips up in Curly's face, and beat pennance into his own back with a switch of not less than 10 thorns or a whip of not less than three tails."

Re:mimic the act of driving

[gstoddart]

Exactly. Self cars need to be 100% self driving, or they're utterly useless.

You can't have a failure mode where it says "OK, meat sock, I have no idea what to do, it's your turn and you have 0.7 seconds to react". That will simply not work.

That would be idiotic and dangerous, and mean that self-driving cars are mostly here but have huge gaps in what they can do.

But it should be like a cab, with the passengers being exactly that ... passengers.

To me, a self-driving car remains a proof of concept if there is ever a mode in which the user needs to take over, the user even has control they could use, or if the user pays for liability insurance as a "driver".

If Google wants to have self-driving cars, they should be like taxi cabs, and they should have their own liability. This hybrid model is doomed to fail.

Re: Three Laws of Self-Driving Cars

[Joce640k]

Huh? The worst polluters are the ones who drive oversized SUVs in the name of 'safety' - they're having no fun at all in their cars, I promise you.

OTOH a not-especially-polluting car can be an awful lot of fun to drive, eg. my MR2 gets about 30mpg and I don't drive it gently.