A Car that Drives Itself? California OKs Self-Driving Cars

The California senate passed legislation on August 29 that further paves the way for cars to drive themselves with no help from the humans in them.

Bill 1298 calls for guidelines to be put in place by the Department of the California Highway Patrol that would establish safety standards and performance requirements for "autonomous vehicles". An autonomous vehicle is defined as "a motor vehicle that uses computers, sensors, and other technology and devices that enable the vehicle to safely operate without the active control and continuous monitoring of a human operator."

The text of the bill acknowledges that some companies (namely Google) have been testing such cars on public roads. Currently, there is nothing in California law that prohibits them from doing so; the proposed legislation would devise safety standards to be implemented and met.

Google recently announced that its own self-driving car system achieved 300,000 miles of testing. The company has 12 vehicles on the road equipped with video cameras, radar sensors, and a laser range finder, all of which gather data that tells the car how to proceed.

Advocates of "autonomous" or "self-driving" or "remote control" cars say that they will save lives by eliminating driver error, and that they will enhance quality of life by allowing motorists to spend their commuting time more productively and enjoyably.

Earlier this year, Nevada instituted regulations for the testing of autonomous cars. In the spring, Google got the green light from the state to test the technology on its roads.

Google stresses that it has yet to send the cars out on their own, and that human beings are always in the driver's seat, ready to take control if the need arises.