The U.S. government has released new guidelines for the fast-developing technology of driverless cars.
The guidelines were announced Tuesday by the Department of Transportation. They were developed with companies working on the technology, as well as industry experts and safety groups.
The administration of President Barack Obama commented on the new guidelines. It said they will help bring about “the responsible introduction” of driverless cars in a “safe, clean, efficient” way.
Obama shared his thoughts on the technology this week in an editorial for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“In the seven-and-a-half years of my presidency, self-driving cars have gone from sci-fi fantasy to an emerging reality with the potential to transform the way we live,” he wrote.
But he added, “We have to get it right. Americans deserve to know they’ll be safe today even as we develop and deploy the technologies of tomorrow.”
15-point safety standards
Obama said that is the goal of the new Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. It includes a list of 15 safety standards for the design and development of autonomous vehicles.
The standards set policies for testing vehicles and recording information about crashes. They also require developers to provide safeguards for system failures and outline their plans to prevent vehicle hacking.
Officials said the policies are meant as suggestions to guide the industry, rather than rules backed by legal enforcement. But the guidelines give the government authority to carry out a recall on vehicle features that do not meet the safety standards.
“If a self-driving car isn't safe, we have the authority to pull it off the road,” Obama wrote in his editorial. “We won't hesitate to protect the American public's safety.”
