California may soon adopt regulations that would literally take the driver out of the driver's seat.
Wired reports the state is looking at the possibility of doing away with the mandate of having a physical human behind the wheel of an autonomous vehicle.
Of course, this would make way for Johnny Cab-level transportation as seen in the movie "Total Recall." (Caution: NSFW language, and hopefully we can do without all the mayhem and explosions.)
Imagine a world wherein an Uber-type solution would stop by the house and take you to the airport, offering the complement of the entire interior.
The best part in all this would be the elimination of awkward chatter between you and the driver.
Obviously, this isn't the impetus behind the proposal, of which you can read at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The actual reason for the futuristic proposition, according to Wired, is eliminating a major reason behind accidents: those darn, unreliable humans:
"...Self-driving cars could eliminate the human error that causes 90 percent of crashes."
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The publication quotes DMV Director Jean Shiomoto who explains on the proposal, "This is the next step in eventually allowing driverless autonomous vehicles on California roadways."
The actual next step is for the state's citizens to make their voices heard on the subject. The DMV will move forward by first holding a public hearing as well as a comment period, which is said to last 45 days.
One of the issues that might arise, as noted by Wired, is the fact there is no third party assessment on prospective driverless cars.Essentially, officials would allow these cars on the roads without the self-driving equivalent of a driver's test.
That said, California is leading the charge with strict regulations. It's reportedly the only state that makes companies pushing their own versions of driverless technology to report each and every crash.
One can see how eliminating humans from the driver's seat would drastically diminish the amount of catastrophe that takes place on the roadways. It remains to be seen if the technology is truly there, however.
Through proposals such as the one pushed by California's DMV, we will soon see if there is actually consumer confidence in this technology.
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