Autonomous Vehicle Law Passes In Nevada: Driverless Cars Could Hit The Road In 2012

Nevada just passed a law that could let self-driving cars on the road as soon as March 1, 2012. The new legislation directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to "adopt regulations authorizing the operation of autonomous vehicles on highways within the State of Nevada."

According to the law, an "autonomous vehicle" is one that uses "artificial intelligence, sensors and global positioning system coordinates to drive itself without the active intervention of a human operator." The law asks the DMV to create a driver's license endorsement for such vehicles.

Self-driving cars have been tested by Google, and recently, by Volkswagen. The autonomous VW uses a "Temporary Autopilot" program that can control the car using a radar system, laser scanner and ultrasonic sensors to determine its position in relation to other cars, to slow down near curves in the road, and more.

While the law may seem like a whiff of the future, it doesn't necessarily mean we'll see cars careening around on their own anytime soon. Rather, the law asks that the DMV design regulations that will help determine how such cars can be approved and used.

Google has been a major proponent of the self-driving car, saying that it believes such vehicles could cut road accidents in half. The company has already tested out their automated cars on the streets of California, logging over 140,000 miles. And, according to The New York Times, Google has been lobbying in Nevada for the passage of this very law.

Steven Levy's book "In The Plex" describes how current Google CEO Larry Page once wanted to enter the stage at the CES tech conference in Las Vegas while sitting on the roof of a self-driving car named Stanley. He didn't get his wish then, but it looks like he might now.

[via Geek.com]

Comments

[drp103]

02:45 PM on 06/28/2011

DUI profits will dry up. Lawyers and States will not be happy.

[Alex Moschopoulos]

07:17 AM on 06/27/2011

I'd love to be able to do 1000 other things than stare at taillights. I hope we see automatic cars in my lifetime.

[cmr11]

07:14 AM on 06/27/2011

until they can prefect a car that can do this all by it's self i don't want to be bothered by some vw robot......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yKb6iSWc0k&feature=player_embedded#at=13

[Channa]

06:41 AM on 06/27/2011

The solution to women drivers in Saudi Arabia!

[littlebrowngirl]

11:30 PM on 06/26/2011

Minority report.

[fjohnanderson]

11:29 PM on 06/26/2011

And another thing who carries the insurence? You or the car itself? After all its driving and its responsible. Also who gets the traffic ticket? I can see it now calling the car up to the stand. And if your drunk the car is driving gets pulled over do you get the dui after all you are not operating the car the car is.

[Darren J Cohen]

09:25 AM on 06/27/2011

Of course the person carries the insurance. The car is still just a tool came as always.

The car would be programmed to obey all traffic laws, so no speeding, no tickets.

And one of its biggest advantages is no more drunk driving. If a sober car is driving, it doesn't matter if the 'driver' is drunk. The 'driver' is not a driver at all, he's a passenger. Why would anyone get charged with DUI?

I have to say, your comments are kind of inane.

[PenguinLinux]

12:47 PM on 06/27/2011

under current laws, the driver would still get a DUI.

[bkeyes]

01:34 PM on 06/29/2011

Actually the person riding in the car may not be the one with the insurance.

One of the interesting possibilities with driverless cars is that companies like Google or GM or ZipCar may have fleets of cars which are pay per mile or hour. If you need a car you just schedule it or request it with your handheld or cell phone. It shows up, takes you where you need to go, drops you off, and you get the bill at the end of the month.

The rider doesn't need to worry about gas, maintenance, or insurance. That's all handled by the owner of the car - in this case not a person but a company.

To find out more about all aspects of driverless cars take a look at:

DriverlessWorld.com

( yes it's my site :)

[fjohnanderson]

11:25 PM on 06/26/2011

Yeah I remember a couple of films about letting robots (yes a self driving car is a robot) take over mundane tasks. Didn't turn out all that great for humans involved 2001 a space oddesy good old homicidal HAL, The Terminator good old friendly Sky Net and The Matrix. Sorry I do not like where this can lead. Given phones are hacked computers are hacked this could lead to folks cars getting hacked people being abducated and robbed and murdered or raped by hackers. Sorry NO to autonomus cars.

[Channa]

06:43 AM on 06/27/2011

Please don't confuse science with science fiction.

[Darren J Cohen]

09:28 AM on 06/27/2011

Maybe you should watch less movies.

1.2 million die every year in traffic accidents worldwide. Take out human error, and you will at least cut it in half, and probably eliminate it almost entirely.

Hopefully those people won't continue to die because others can't differentiate movies from reality.

[fjohnanderson]

08:29 PM on 06/29/2011

Those numbers would drop dramatically if all cars and trucks were built to U.S. and euro safety standards along with tires and braking systems. Plus if roads like Boliva's "Highway of death" (one death every 30 seconds average) were improved to at least 1930's safety standards.
More reality Airbus look at their record for flight incidents from the computers refusing pilot commands. One famous crash from their computer controlled planes took place at an air show. The computers refused to power up the engines and surface control inputs considering them unsafe and it resulted in a fatal incident http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/first-airbus-a320-crash-french-air-show/567226a3f59e1834628c567226a3f59e1834628c-874069885738?q=airbus+airshow+crash&FORM=VIRE5
There are other non crash incidents where disaster was avoided by tricking the Airbus flight computers. Given there are more cars on the ground per mile then aircraft in the sky per mile and the ease with which computers of any brand can fail or be hacked would you feel safe with a Semi tanker carrying say gas driving through your neighborhood driverless? Sorry technology fails all to often to trust my grand daughters life to a driverless tanker truck.

[jabailo]

10:34 PM on 06/26/2011

This technology is real...it is here. Also this week Mercedes Benz announced they are accelerating delivery of their hydrogen fuel cell cars to 2014!!

We are creating the perfect storm for robot vehicles that are completely non-polluting and which can drive themselves. They will make all current forms of metropolitan transit obsolete. They will make all arguments about CO2 obsolete.

The biggest lag in the system right now is the 20th century mindset of planners who are forever looking over their shoulder...backward...rather than forward.

[cvermeulen9]

07:20 PM on 08/06/2011

I guess I'll wait for 2014!

[PeterCao]

09:10 PM on 06/26/2011

@medialv2

Thank you for your advice. What I am saying is that this self-drivi­ng car project is crime ridden: its project leader Sebastian Thrun retaliated on me along with a criminal suspect; Google's Eric Schmidt sheltered Thrun after Thrun was descipline­d at Stanford, and then an innocent Stanford student May Zhou was murdered by powers behind Thrun and Schmidt to threaten my life and to terrorize Stanford; when Google's Eric Schmidt was removed from Google CEO position because of his crime in this case, Germany powers directly came in to mess up, and German powers had malfunctio­ned the U.S. legal system to cover up Thrun's and Schmidt's crimes etc.

For more details, please read several posters under my name as following, or contact me
[e-mail]

By the way, can't Larry Page really wait to take advantage of such situation to emboss his name on this self-driving car project, or is this a conspiracy from Thrun's side to shelter himself again under the name of Google CEO?

[Mitchman57]

07:54 PM on 06/26/2011

HEY HUFFPO......

When are you going to auto-delete these cr*ppy spam 'tiny URL' posts before we have to look at them?

[ErnestineBass]

05:29 PM on 06/26/2011

They can make a car that drives itself, but not one that gets 60 mpg.

Well, not in this country anyway.

[Pectin]

10:59 AM on 06/28/2011

Yes they can.

[Coffee4Me]

03:14 PM on 06/26/2011

Now that Arizona has finally granted them the rights to freedom they have longed for, the Batmobile, Kit, and Herbie the Love Bug are organizing a celebration rally on the National Mall.

[ErnestineBass]

05:33 PM on 06/26/2011

LOL

[PeterCao]

02:06 PM on 06/26/2011

This self driving car project started from a group lead by a German scholar named Sebastian Thrun in Stanford. Sebastian Thrun had involved himself into a criminal case in which he collaberated with another German scholar to retaliate on me and falsely accused me at authorities http://blog.tianya.cn/blogger/post_read.asp?BlogID=2478701&PostID=32478367 [Stanford Police Case Number: IR #04-111-0335]

[medialv2]

06:23 PM on 06/26/2011

You need someone who can translate your story better. It is very difficult to follow your explanation.

[PeterCao]

07:40 PM on 06/26/2011

Please read following posters under my name.
For further questions contact me [e-mail]

[TwentiethBear]

07:12 PM on 06/26/2011

I don't think anybody cares, we just want self-driving cars (particularly ones that can also fly).

[PeterCao]

02:05 PM on 06/26/2011

The crimes from powers behind Eric Schmidt and Sebastian Thrun are well covered up by powers behind them. From what I learned, their side had endangered my life several times, the only reason they didn't take an action so far is because they are closely watched by securities ...

Peter Cao [e-mail]

[PeterCao]

01:54 PM on 06/26/2011

Investigations from authorities had indicated that it is powers behind Eric Schmidt and Sebastian Thrun who murdered this completely innocent girl May Zhou, to threaten me an to terrorize Stanford. Both Thrun and Schmidt were backed up by powers from Germany. And their crimes were well covered up by powers behind them, so that no one dare clarify this case at authorities so far. [German Chancellor Angela Merkel even came to Stanford in April 2010 to support Thrun and Schmidt's conspiracy against Stanford, and months later that year, German powers almost set up a coup in Stanford before it was cracked down by California Judicial Authorities].