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The US Transportation Department has issued a definitive set of guidelines for autonomous and driverless cars for the first time.
The new rules are planned to replace the current set of rules, which have been patched together in recent years and have often found to be contradictory.
Among the new regulations is a requirement that all autonomous cars be fitted with aircraft style black boxes to record what happens in the event of a crash.
Ride hailing app Uber is already testing the technology in the US city of Pittsburgh and president Barack Obama used an editorial published in the city’s Post Gazette newspaper to discuss the new rules.
“If a self-driving car isn’t safe, we have the authority to pull it off the road. We won’t hesitate to protect the American public’s safety,” he wrote.
“The quickest way to slam the brakes on innovation is for the public to lose confidence in the safety of new technologies.
“We’re determined to help the private sector get this technology right from the start. Because technology isn’t just about the latest gadget or app – it’s about making people’s lives better.”
The president said a 15-point list has been created that not only covers recording data in the event of a crash, but also data protection for customers, in-car controls, security and testing of vehicles.
The list has already been welcomed by the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, a group which counts Google, Lyft, Uber and Ford among its members, all of which are currently either testing or exploring the technology around driverless cars.
Trials of the technology are also underway in different parts of the UK – with Bristol, Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Coventry the areas taking part. The Government has already issued their own guidelines on autonomous cars, including demands for thorough testing before being allowed on a public road.
