| California may become the second state to pass legislation to allow self-driving vehicles on its roads. The home state of Google, and their AI driving system, is currently reviewing SB 1298 which has already passed the Senate. |
The bill charges the DMV by January 2015 with determining standards for vehicles and rules.
Automakers would have to get their vehicles approved by the state, and then licensed drivers would apply to become backup operators of approved autonomous cars.
Car manufacturers like Ford, Audi and BMW are all working to manufacture the world's first "autonomous" vehicles for consumers, and say it's just a matter of time -- perhaps five years from now -- before they'll be ready to hit the market.
Google has famously showed off its autonomous Prius, which has logged 300,000 miles on California roads and taken a blind man to Taco Bell.
Auto manufacturers also worry about who will be responsible, legally, if autonomous cars crash and cause a major injury or death, which often result in lawsuits. Still others fear it is premature to develop standards for vehicles that don't yet exist commercially.
"This does not protect adequately the manufacturers for liability concerns," said Dan Gage, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which opposes the bill. "That's our main problem."
Still, with a huge market opportunity, the industry supports autonomous cars.
"It's not far away that many of us will be driving autonomous vehicles," Gage said. "We're moving in that direction. That fully autonomous car of the future is not that far away."
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