The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be updating the DOT’s policy on self-driving cars.
The department’s previous statement, published in May 2013, says cars should be limited to testing and not “authorized for use by members of the public for general driving purposes.”
In light of recent progress in autonomous vehicle technology, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx he knows critics thought DOT played it too safe in its 2013 stance.
Foxx told reporters, “I think what you’re sensing from me is a belief that if done well, we will set the ground rules for the next 20 or 30 years in transportation by figuring out as early as we can how best to integrate this technology into our roadways.”
“I want the posture of our agency to be obviously vigilant on the safety front, but I don’t want our agency to be skittish about innovations that are out there,” Foxx said.
“We’re on the cusp of a massive transformation in transportation. …And that’s exciting on some levels, but it’s also something that requires a lot of thought on the part of our agency in terms of how to create the safest possible environment for that technology and what some of the ground rules ought to be.”
