Re:Uber sets self-driving battle at permission, not existence
by bertil on Tuesday December 20, 2016 @05:01PM
(#13224529)
Exactly this.
A friend of mine is a reckless driver, who think of himself as a rally pilot. He often drives at twice the speed limit, passes other cars when there’s a continuous line, etc. After a wedding dinner, (where he drunk more than enough) he announced he was driving home. I had to ask:
- Are you sure you should be doing this?
- Yeah, even with a glass or two (I counted a good half-dozen) I’m a better driver than 90% on the road anyway…
- I mean, that might get points off your license. [He had mentioned losing some during the dinner.]
- Nah, it’s OK: I don’t have a license anymore, so I have no points to lose. I’m smart like that, you see?
I agree with TechCrunch: Uber is smart like that too.
§ 227.36. Refusal, Suspension, Revocation of Manufacturer’s Testing Permit
The department may refuse an application for a Manufacturer’s Testing Permit, or for the renewal of a Manufacturer’s Testing Permit, and may suspend or revoke a Manufacturer’s Testing Permit:
(a) For a violation of Vehicle Code section 38750 or this Article.
(b) For any act or omission of the manufacturer or one of its agents, employees, contractors or designees which the department finds makes the conduct of autonomous vehicle testing on public roads by the manufacturer an unreasonable risk to the public.
It's pretty straightforward. This works just like regular bad driving enforcement. There are now two reports of Uber self-driving cars running red lights and complaints about bad turns through bike lanes, so DMV can reasonably deny a permit. Google doesn't seem to have those problems.
[1] https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/d48f347b-8815-458e...