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In an effort to remain the center of U.S. automotive development, Michigan has passed the most comprehensive self-driving vehicle regulations in the country:
Michigan, in a race with Silicon Valley for supremacy in autonomous autos, today enacted legislation that it said is the first in the U.S. to establish comprehensive regulations for testing, use and eventual sale of self-driving cars.
Governor Rick Snyder signed a law that defines how self-driving cars can be used on public roads in testing and commercial deployment, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said in a statement. The law allows public road testing of vehicles without steering wheels, gas or brake pedals or any need for human control. It lets auto and tech companies operate driverless ride-sharing services and also lays out rules for how self-driving cars can be sold to the public once the technology has been tested and certified. "Michigan is the global center for automotive technology and development," Snyder said in the statement. "By establishing guidelines and standards for self-driving vehicles, we're continuing that tradition."
(Score: 1) by MilanorTSW on Monday December 12 2016, @03:31AM
No, not because I am afraid of technology or anything like that. On paper, self-driving cars are great and amazing.
What scares me is that the vast majority of Michiganders make their living as truck drivers. What will happen to a huge chunk of the state when self-driving trucks become reliable? What will happen to the tax money that the truck drivers pay?
And it's not just Michigan, truck drivers make up most of the United States.
Then we have taxi drivers, whom Uber will squeeze out. There is really something wrong when Uber operates at such a big loss. Either they plan to increase prices tenfold after they squeeze out cab companies or they plan to go full auto. Or both. Actually, probably both.