Self-driving cars of the future could be built without pedals, mirrors and even a STEERING WHEEL ‘because they are not vital’
- Waymo, as well as Honda, Uber and Lyft, penned a letter to NHTSA
- States that many features of traditional cars are redundant in self-driving cars
- But existing legislation states 75 rules must be met for a car to be roadworthy
- These include presence of mirrors, pedals, steering wheels and controls how seats can be laid out
Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, is pushing to get rid of many traditional car features, including mirrors, pedals and the steering wheel.
It urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to ‘promptly’ remove regulatory barriers for cars necessitating they have traditional features.
Legislation around the manufacturing of cars means they must meet nearly 75 auto safety standards demanding these be fitted, even if they are redundant.
Waymo says a lot of the rules are not vital to autonomous vehicles because they work and operate in such a different way.
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Waymo urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to ‘promptly’ remove regulatory barriers for cars necessitating they have traditional features (file photo)
Waymo, as well as Honda, Uber and Lyft, penned a letter to NHTSA asking for progress in streamlining the development of autonomous cars.
The governing body is in a tricky position with existing laws and has been grappling or more than three years with how to address the problem posed by the emerging tech.
‘NHTSA should move promptly to remove barriers while ensuring safety,’ Waymo said in a letter posted last week.
Waymo says the governing body should also revise rules to address alternative seating configurations, Waymo said.
That will ‘enable the timely deployment’ of vehicles without manual controls, Waymo added.
General Motors, who is also working to develop autonomous vehicles, added that ‘it is imperative that NHTSA continue to drive this critical dialogue with a sense of urgency so that the necessary regulatory evolution keeps pace with advancing technology.’
Waymo, as well as Honda, Uber and Lyft, penned a letter to NHTSA asking for progress in streamlining the development of autonomous cars and getting rid of redundant regulations (file photo)
Lyft and Honda said in separate comments that it could recognise self-driving cars as a separate vehicle class to solve the issue.
However, NHTSA has no plans to rewrite the rule book until March 2020.
It would include a compete overhaul of much of the current rules pertaining to the crashworthiness of vehicles if occupants could face different directions than in traditional cars.
Comments filed by automakers suggest it could take the agency until at least 2025 to complete a comprehensive rewrite of various safety standards.
NHTSA is also grappling with how and where to test self-driving cars to assure they are safe.
The agency is considering whether to use simulations or external remote controls in testing.
WHAT ARE THE SIX LEVELS OF SELF-DRIVING AUTOMATION?
Level Zero – The full-time performance by the human driver of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even when enhanced by warning or intervention systems.
Level One – A small amount of control is accomplished by the system such as adaptive braking if a car gets too close.
Level Two – The system can control the speed and direction of the car allowing the driver to take their hands off temporarily, but they have to monitor the road at all times and be ready to take over.
Level Three – The driver does not have to monitor the system at all times in some specific cases like on high ways but must be ready to resume control if the system requests.
Level Four – The system can cope will all situations automatically within defined use but it may not be able to cope will all weather or road conditions. System will rely on high definition mapping.
Level Five – Full automation. System can cope with all weather, traffic and lighting conditions. It can go anywhere, at any time in any conditions.
Tesla’s Model 3 Sedan – one of the world’s most advanced road-legal cars with autonomous elements – currently operates at Level Two autonomy. It is equipped for Level Three autonomy, which may be introduced in a future software update
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