7 Companies are testing driverless cars in California. As a result, California is trying to get ahead of regulations before the cars hit the consumer market. 2 Questions arise:
1. How do you regulate?
- Do self driving cars obey all traffic laws?
- What if their computers freeze?
- Can they smoothly hand control back to human drivers?
2. How do you verify the safety standards of the cars? 3 options:
- Follow the current U.S. system, in which manufacturers self-certify their vehicles;
- Opt for a European system, in which independent companies verify safety; or
- States could get into the testing business.