Self-driving cars that are being developed by WCTA member Google and others are getting a lift from regulators eager to accelerate automation that they predict could prevent many crashes. A new U.S. Department of Transportation policy has been released that should advance testing and help develop precursor technologies such as vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems and brakes that apply themselves when a crash is sensed to be imminent.
“We see tremendous promise in these technologies whether you’re looking at the current active safety systems in some vehicles today or whether you’re looking at a truly autonomous vehicle,” David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Read the full story by Angela Greiling Keane, Bloomberg, May 30, 2013.