California legislators have given the green light to allowing driverless cars on California roadways.The bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown allows autonomous vehicles to operate on state roads, but leaves the details to be worked out by the DMV. The process is just getting started, but signs of tension have already emerged between state regulators and carmakers who want wide latitude to test their inventions on California roads.
It seems everyone has an opinion where the new technology is concerned. Silicon Valley companies, the car industry and the public have begun telling DMV what rules of the road they’d like to see. Techies are concerned about over-regulation stifling innovation, while consumer groups worry about safety. Some say the technology could be widely available in five years while Audi says driverless cars could be available to consumers by the end of the decade.Personal transport will probably be the first driverless option, but commercial trucking would soon follow suit. One analyst has calculated that the capital costs of a driverless truck could be $150,000. For now though, the DMV is tackling the multitude of issues that would come with the absence of drivers like who is to be cited for a wreck. Consumers can only wait and dream of the day when a chauffeur comes standard.
