Regulatory Trend: INTERIM. Self Driving Cars. Computer is the Driver.

In response to a proposal from google, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the driver of a self driving car is the car’s computer.

The machines are taking over the world. 3 Keys from the federal regulators that will matter in Texas:

• States and the feds are tackling laws and rule making. The ruling for google is limited to its application.
• Google’s home state, California, has a propsoed rules that require a human driver in the vehicle.
• The level of human interaction with self driving cars has to be considered for all aspects of driving in regulations. The laws and regulations proposed throughout the U.S. have different standards for steering & braking all of which still require a degree of manual control.

Engadget | US regulators: Google’s self-driving car AI ‘can be a driver’

Autoblog | US regulators: Google’s self-driving car AI ‘can be a driver’

Statesman | Government will consider Google computer to be car’s driver