California governor paves way for driverless cars

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday that will pave the way for?driverless?cars?in California.?Driverless cars use computers, sensors and other technology to operate independently, but allow humans to take control at any time.

By Terence Chea,?Associated Press / September 26, 2012

Google co-founder Sergey Brin gestures after riding in a driverless car with California Gov. Edmund G Brown Jr., left, and state Senator Alex Padilla, second from left, to a bill signing for driverless cars at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Tuesday. The legislation will open the way for driverless cars in the state.

Eric Risberg/AP

Enlarge

Mountain View, California

Gov. Jerry Brown rode to Google headquarters in a self-driving Toyota Prius before signing legislation Tuesday that will pave the way for?driverless?cars?in California.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The bill by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla will establish safety and performance regulations to test and operate autonomous vehicles on state roads and highways.

"Today we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality ? the self-driving?car," Brown said. "Anyone who gets inside a?car?and finds out the?car?is driving will be a little skittish, but they'll get over it."

Google has been developing autonomous?car?technology and lobbying for the regulations. The company's fleet of a dozen computer-controlled vehicles has logged more than 300,000 miles (483,000 kilometers) of self-driving without an accident, according to Google.

"I think the self-driving?car?can really dramatically improve the quality of life for everyone," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said.

Autonomous?cars?can make roads safer, free commuters from the drudgery of driving, reduce congestion and provide transport to people who can't drive themselves, such as the blind, disabled, elderly and intoxicated, Brin said.

"I expect that self-driving?cars?will be far safer than human-driven?cars," Brin said.

Brin predicted that autonomous vehicles will be commercially available within a decade. He said Google has no plans to produce its own?cars, but instead plans to partner with the automobile industry to develop autonomous vehicles.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers expressed concern that California is moving too quickly to embrace self-driving?cars?and needs to first sort out liability issues.

"Unfortunately this legislation lacks any provision protecting an automaker whose?car?is converted to an autonomous operation vehicle without the consent or even knowledge of that auto manufacturer," the trade group said in a statement.

Autonomous?cars?use computers, sensors and other technology to operate independently, but a human driver can override the autopilot function and take control of the vehicle at any time.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/FqZZkNFFKMk/California-governor-paves-way-for-driverless-cars

purim acc tournament big ten tournament big east tournament 2012 solar storm solar flares spanx