Self-Driving Cars Clear a Hurdle,With Computer Called Driver--Update
February 10 2016 - 1:51PM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Ramsey
Federal highway regulators, aiming to help companies figure out
how to meet safety standards when designing cars, are willing to
consider a computer running an autonomous vehicle as the
"driver."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's decision,
coming in response to a query from an official with Alphabet Inc.'s
Google X self-driving car program, will likely provide flexibility
in meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards that govern a
range of design requirements. For instance, the location of a turn
signal stock and how an accelerator pedal functions are regulated
by these standards.
These rules were crafted without consideration of a self-driving
vehicle, and Alphabet needed clarification since it will develop
vehicle cockpits for passengers who let a computer make driving
decisions.
The move is a win for the Google autonomous-car program, which
has been under development since 2009, and other companies looking
to build vehicles that don't require a driver. The decision,
however, doesn't give unlimited leeway to designers--NHTSA said the
Mountain View, Calif., company has to ask for an exemption from
regulation that have specifications meant to protect physical
drivers.
Alphabet can press for changes to the law since NHTSA interprets
rules instead of making them. The agency posted its decision on its
website. An Alphabet spokesman declined to comment.
While many auto makers are introducing vehicles with
semiautonomous features and planning to develop that technology
aggressively, the Google car design takes a driver out of the
equation entirely. Alphabet recently began testing the vehicles in
Seattle, the third U.S. city where it operates fully autonomous
cars.
NHTSA's decision could help the entire auto industry, but it is
a direct vote of confidence for Alphabet. The company is facing a
challenge in its home state of California, which has drafted
regulations prohibiting a car that is designed with no mechanism by
which a driver can take over from a computer. California would also
require a specific license to offer such vehicles.
"We are surprised at how soon the federal agency has given such
recognition to this technology as potentially replacing a human
operator in such a critical transport system," said Morgan Stanley
analyst Adam Jonas in a note to investors. "In our view, this
points to the agency's desire to address the large and growing
incidence of motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries on U.S.
roads."
Chris Urmson, the technical leader of the Google car program,
recently spoke at a hearing of California's Department of Motor
Vehicles to ask that the proposed rule be changed to allow Alphabet
to move forward with plans. The company aims to open up driving to
the young, old and disabled.
The Obama administration last month proposed a $3.9 billion
program to invest in testing and researching autonomous vehicles.
The investment would span a decade.
"Our interpretation that the self-driving computer system of a
car could, in fact, be a driver, is significant," said
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement. "But the
burden remains on self-driving car manufacturers to prove that
their vehicles meet rigorous federal safety standards."
Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 10, 2016 13:36 ET (18:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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