US Government to Release Safety Guidelines for Self-Driving Cars read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/912-us-government-to-release-safety-guidelines-for-self-driving-cars

The US government is issuing new regulatory framework for self-driving automobile technology. US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the federal government intends to set the safety standards for cars of the future where no human is involved in the driving (self-driving cars).

The new guidelines will go into effect immediately and are designed to help manufacturers better understand the level of safety and performance semi- and fully-autonomous vehicles will need to achieve.

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx Announced a 15-point safety assessment for driverless car systems. He also mentioned that the government wants to work with developers- which include most large automakers as well as tech giants such as Alphabet (Google) and Uber-- without stifling their efforts.

The 15 points by which driverless cars, or “highly automated vehicles” (HAVs), will be judged, include:

– the vehicle’s perception and response functionality

– data recording and information sharing capabilities

– how well the cars manage in case of technical failures

– security from hacking

– user privacy

Also on the list are “ethical considerations,” how self-driving vehicles are programmed to handle conflict dilemmas on the road. 

Self-Driving union for Safer Streets, founding members of which include Google, Ford, Lyft, Volvo, and Uber called the regulatory framework “an important first step: in the deployment of autonomous cars.

“We look forward to continued alliance with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other federal and state policymakers to further develop the national framework for safe and timely deployment that avoids a patchwork of requirements that could inhibit self-driving vehicle development and operations,” Strickland said.

Despite concerns the development of self-driving cars is moving too fast, the Federal government remains largely in favor of the technology.