Posted on 01/14/2016 9:45:47 PM PST by Cowman
The American government is officially putting a giant vote of confidence behind self-driving cars. And the cash to back it up.
Today, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is announcing a nearly $4 billion plan that’ll help manufacturers and tech companies develop safe, automated vehicles in the next ten years with real-world pilot projects. It’s all part of President Obama’s plan to make American transportation as futuristic as possible.
The funds, which have been set aside in the proposed federal budget for 2017, will go toward pilot programs in specific transportation corridors in the US. The government will then work with industry leaders to kick the development of automated vehicles into high gear. The goal is to make sure that those robo-cars are safe, and that American infrastructure is ready for them.
Secretary Foxx will revealed the huge game-changer at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this afternoon with Ford, Google, Delphi and others. In a statement from the Department of Transportation provided to Gizmodo before the announcement, he said this about the plan:
“We are on the cusp of a new era in automotive technology with enormous potential to save lives, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and transform mobility for the American people. Today’s actions and those we will pursue in the coming months will provide the foundation and the path forward for manufacturers, state officials, and consumers to use new technologies and achieve their full safety potential.â€
Secretary Foxx’s announcement will also update the policy guidance on self-driving vehicles developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2013. This is crucial as it now points to autonomous vehicles as a valuable tool for creating safer streets and highways.
NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said today, in the same provided statement:
“NHTSA is using all of its available tools to accelerate the deployment of technologies that can eliminate 94 percent of fatal crashes involving human error. We will work with state partners toward creating a consistent national policy on these innovations, provide options now and into the future for manufacturers seeking to deploy autonomous vehicles, and keep our safety mission paramount at every stage.â€
How will this change start to roll out? Within the first six months of 2016, the government will hit two major milestones.
First, the NHTSA will collaborate with the industry to finalize guidelines for “safe deployment and operation of autonomous vehicles,†plus state partners, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators on the state level that can help guide a consistent framework on the national level.
Next, to accommodate the folks on the engineering side, Secretary Foxx wants manufacturers to submit “rule interpretation requests†so that the technology aligns with the law. The Department of Transportation points to one example of when BMW inquired about the company’s remote self-parking system, and whether it met federal safety standards.
Self-driving cars are coming to American roads, ready or not.
That will make it easier to keep the sheep from wandering off the plantation.
And liberals who profess "smart growth" high density (high yield rental income) solutions are adamant against people from the suburbs driving IN to town to work or experience sporting events at civic funded stadiums.
Nobody REALLY needs to own an “automatic transmission” car with a scary black paint job.
What if cars were controlled just like guns now are?
Well, let’s consider some of the implications.
* In Washington DC, you couldn’t own a car at all, unless it was “grandfathered” in or you were an elected politician. New York would be almost as bad.
* You could possess a car on your own property, but in most states, you would need a special permit in order to operate it on any public road, and if you live within city limits, you’d better have a damned good reason to operate it even on your own property. Some states would have a policy of always issuing the permit unless they had legitimate reason not to, but others would deny the permit for arbitrary reasons and not be required to tell you the reason, and many jurisdictions in such states would have a policy of just saying “No.” (Unless, of course, you’d contributed a large sum of money to the Sheriff’s re-election campaign. Could be $5,000, could be $10,000, could be $20,000 ... depends. How much money do you have?)
* You’d also be able to operate it at licensed race tracks, of course. However, in many states, you couldn’t drive it there, you’d have to transport it in a locked box trailer, and it had better be completely empty fueled , both directions. In some states, if it was found during a routine stop that you had fuel in the same trailer, the car would be considered fueled and you’d be arrested. How you haul the trailer is your own problem ... oxen? 20 mule team?
* You couldn’t own an SUV. No-one needs a car that big and powerful.
* No sports cars. No-one needs a car that fast.
* You couldn’t own a minivan. No-one needs a vehicle with that much capacity (except the city, of course, which would continue to operate its bus fleets, government exempting itself as it always does from the laws its citizens have to follow).
* You couldn’t own a vehicle with an automatic transmission. Everyone knows automatic transmissions are designed solely to make as many gear changes as possible with a single shove of the gas pedal.
* You couldn’t own that subcompact 58mpg hybrid any more. Everyone “knows” cars that small aren’t safe. There might be some domestic models (yeah, right!), but all imports would be banned.
* Motorcycles, even more so; they’d all be banned. Just way too easy to have one and not be seen. (Most motorcyclists would agree with this. We think it’s WAY too easy to own and operate a motorcycle and “not be seen”. Many motorcyclists get killed every year by people who “didn’t see” them.) And even your bicycle would get funny looks, especially if it’s something unusual like a recumbent.
* The Mayor and your Senator would somehow still have no difficulty continuing to operate their chauffeur-driven limos. But what else is new?
* It would be illegal in some states to have a car possessing more than two of, say, a CD player, a sunroof, a trailer hitch, a rear spoiler, alloy wheels, racing stripes, a convertible top, tinted windows, tuner decals, or an aftermarket exhaust system (even if it performed no differently than stock). In some states, certain accessories such as fog lights or convertible tops would be simply illegal, period. Your state might also have a specific list by name of cars you weren’t allowed to own for more or less arbitrary, largely cosmetic reasons, and might also vaguely prohibit ownership of any vehicle “substantially similar” to one on the list. Naturally, it would be your responsibility to find out from the state DMV whether a specific car was actually legal for you to own or not, and if they changed their minds later, they might arrest you anyway despite having already told you your car was legal. (They might repeat this cycle several times.)
* It would be a felony to leave your car unsecured where a minor could get access to it.
* In some states, if someone stole your car and committed a crime with it, you could go to jail. Even if you didn’t go to jail, you’d never get the car back. State law would most likely require that it be crushed.
this is the future. I’m willing to go full electricity once they release the cheaper model. This is how we combat terrorism and reduce muslim expansion. Dry Saudi of their funds
Tesla’s Autopilot System Is Creepy And Wonderful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yCAZWdqX_Y
Jump to the ground as the turbo slows
To cross the borderline
Run like the wind as excitement shivers
Up and down my spine
But down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me
An old machine
For fifty-odd years
To keep it as new
Has been his dearest dream
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We'll fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Obama- fix the infrastructure first- where did all that money go
What good is it to have cars that cannot use the roads that are falling apart- more wsted taxpayers money
I see driverless cars all the time around here. The passenger sitting behind the wheel is totally engaged talking on the phone.
It will make Obama feel good. With Dems, the more they spend, the better they feel.
These guys are so clueless. Why can’t they start with a few million and then see how it goes? Instead, they just throw tons of money at it. Obama just trying to create a legacy.
Using our money to take away our right to drive. The ultimate goal is a central computer system deciding how fast we go, what route we take and when we go. A system that records every move. A system that counts miles and bills us for them.
In addition, we will still have the property tax, registration, insurance premiums and liability.
I object to cars.
We will get back just as much as we did from Solyndra(sp).
Let’s see, the money will be spent on new regulations and the government will claim credit for this technology....you didn’t create that
A car is not "autonomous" if it has federal money paying for it to any extent. With the money comes control.
If you were alarmed by DEA license plate readers watching traffic on highways and recording the passing of every vehicle, that program is nothing compared to what will happen next.
You can bet these cars will each have a federally-mandated radio beacon by which cars can tell each other of their location, and by which our privacy of travel can be totally destroyed by government surveillance.
The proposed $4 Billion is just a government handout to Tesla, disguised as “research.”
Crony capitalism, Democratic Party style.
Correction:
People who have very little Constitutional authority of anything, let alone knowledge, expertize or experience, are in charge of everything.
Oh, NO they won’t. They’ll still get you for ‘operating a vehicle while intoxicated’, ‘smart-car’ or no...That $$ gotta “come home to papa”, SOMEHOW.
You’ll just have to blow into that little tube before your trip will commence is all.
....That is such a sickeningly sleezy idea that I fear it being prophetic.
Thats true, in theory.
However the plan isn’t to put an AV into your garage. It’s to have companies that own the AVs and timeshare them out as they’re needed. There was a tread here recently on that; about how privately-owned vehicles are only used 5% of the time, while corporately-owned, “timeshared” AVs would push that figure considerably higher.
When that happens you become subject to the whims of the company that actually owns the vehicles.
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