Fully-autonomous cars are coming, and a group of heavy hitters in the automotive industry has formed a coalition in an effort to make it happen sooner rather than later.
The group currently includes Ford Motor Company, Volvo, Google, Uber, and Lyft. They call themselves the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets and the group states its main goal is to assist in the process of developing federal standards for self-driving cars and avoid a messy patchwork of state laws.
Also joining the coalition is David Strickland, who used to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is now with Venable, a Washington law firm known for representing automakers. With NHTSA working on self-driving car regulations, the coalition is leaning on Strickland for guidance and to be its official spokesperson.
“The best for this innovation is to have one clear set of federal standards and the coalition will work with policymakers to find the right solutions that will facilitate the deployment of self-driving vehicles,” Strickland said in a statement.
Autonomous cars continue to develop at a rapid pace, putting pressure on federal and state regulators to propose rules for the new technology.
While California public roads have become a test bed for autonomous car testing, the state has also hinted at strict regulations that have some companies worried. The state, for example, proposed a rule back in December that would require autonomous vehicles to be equipped with steering wheels and pedals, and mandated that a licensed driver be at the wheel at all times. Google, however, strongly opposed the proposal and prevailed in February when NHTSA ruled that the tech company’s autonomous car computers could be considered the vehicle’s legal operator.
Source: Reuters, Los Angeles Times
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