Won’t it be great when our cars can be the designated driverand we’re not left drawing straws to see who can’t drink on a Saturday night? Whenthe wheel hub and bearing assembly are controlled by the car’s computer ratherthan a driver? It may have seemed like something out of a science fiction moviejust years ago (cough, cough iRobot), but this idea is becoming more of areality every day.Google has been working on autonomous vehicles for a fewyears now, with several of their concepts already having logged over 160,000miles in test runs. And how many accidents have been reported? Zero. Relying onwhat I assume to be a combination of the GPS system, cruise control, as well assensors and cameras to detect other vehicles on the road, these cars have beentesting in a sort of “legal limbo”. That is until this month when Nevada passedthe first legislation that embraces what seems to be the future of theautomobile industry. The new rules, which will allow autonomous vehicle testingin the state, still require there to be an “operator” available in case of atechnical glitch. Yep, that means cars DD-ing you home will remain illegal fornow (so no napping in the backseat while your car drives you home from the bar).However, you will be able to talk on your cell phone.
This technology is already available in many newer modelcars. Companies like BMW and Audi have also been testing their self-drivingsystems which will probably appear for highway-only use in the coming years. The factthat Nevada recognizes this as the future and is adopting laws to aid itsdevelopment is pretty awesome, and I’m sure in time other states will followsuit. But for now, we wait.
