A Google driverless car collided with a bus when it tried to merge into an adjacent lane to avoid an obstacle ahead. Google attributes the error to a miscalculation – the car’s computer expected the bus to slow down and allow the driverless car to merge, but the bus kept moving forward. Notably, the computer’s determination that the bus would slow down was subsequently confirmed by the test driver, who remained behind the wheel at all times but did not take control of the vehicle. No conclusions have been, or are likely to be, reached regarding the liability of either the driverless car, the human operator of the car or the bus driver.
While no one was injured in the Feb. 14 crash, the collision is being used by some to argue for more stringent restrictions on driverless cars. Today, a group of consumer advocacy organizations (Consumer Watchdog, Consumers Union, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, and the Center for Auto Safety) submitted a letter to the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Administration requesting, among other things, that the NHTSA follow the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ lead and require a human driver behind the wheel of a driverless vehicle. Last month, the NHTSA opined that artificial intelligence (the car’s computer) can constitute a “driver” for the purposes of federal motor vehicle safety requirements. In stark contrast, the DMV’s draft regulations for the deployment of driverless cars expressly requires a human driver; i.e., artificial intelligence cannot constitute a driver. As previously discussed, other interest groups, such as advocates for people with disabilities, asked the DMV to follow the NHTSA’s standard and abandon the human-driver requirement. Because a human operator was present at the time, the collision is unlikely to move NHTSA from its current position.
While the DMV’s rulemaking notice and comment period has not yet begun, a recent American Automobile Association survey may offer insight on what we can expect. According the AAA survey of American drivers, roughly 75 percent are scared of the prospect of riding in a driverless car and 20 percent would trust a driverless car to drive itself. On the other hand, the survey revealed a high demand for semi-autonomous technology. It appears that while consumers are clamoring for assistive technology, they are not ready to cede control to a computer.
The recent collision and the survey data from AAA shows that the autonomous vehicle industry still has some way to go in its efforts to convince the general public of the merits of driverless cars.
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