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Michigan Lets Autonomous Cars On Roads Without Human Driver (go.com)
Companies can now test self-driving cars on Michigan public roads without a driver or steering wheel under new laws that could push the state to the forefront of autonomous vehicle development. From a report on ABC: The package of bills signed into law Friday comes with few specific state regulations and leaves many decisions up to automakers and companies like Google and Uber. It also allows automakers and tech companies to run autonomous taxi services and permits test parades of self-driving tractor-trailers as long as humans are in each truck. And they allow the sale of self-driving vehicles to the public once they are tested and certified, according to the state. The bills allow testing without burdensome regulations so the industry can move forward with potential life-saving technology, said Gov. Rick Snyder, who was to sign the bills. "It makes Michigan a place where particularly for the auto industry it's a good place to do work," he said.
Guilt when it comes to corporate entities is already severely murky and depressing, and getting worse.
How many people went to jail for all the mortgage fraud, forged notary signatures, and crap sandwich CDO's from the 2008 bust? Still waiting for all the pending investigations by Eric Placeholder are you? Yep, lies, delay tactics, and no actual justice.
So yes, companies will get sued. They have lawyers by the bushel on staff who will drain the resources of the victims, draw out lawsuits for years, if not decades, and eventually wear down the victims until they settle or go away. If there is sufficient outrage the Justice Department (sort of like calling your propoganda department the Ministry of Information)will launch a very public investigation that mostly just fades away, maybe nailing a token peon or two in case anyone pays attention long enough.
In other words, the victims will get "American Justice" at its finest. How satisfied was anybody over the Toyota "unintended acceleration" debacle? No real guilt was admitted, and no proper post-mortem was divulged, just denial and smoke screens. We got new floor mats and a software update along with some payouts to shut people up. Only outside independent investigation confirmed their software was horrendous. Nobody went to jail for killing and maiming a few of their customers.
No CEO or high ranking person will ever go to jail simply because their policies pressured underlings to release dangerous products onto the street. At best we might get a recall and a settlement, maybe an empty public apology or resignation with golden parachute if absolutely necessary. We little people are not important, protecting CEO's careers is a higher priority than protecting our miserable lives.