“Stress-Tested” Self-Driving Cars Demands DOT Secretary

San Francisco: Before people trust a robot with their car steering and brakes, the U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stated on Tuesday that he needs government regulators and the auto industry to work together closely and test self-driving technology first.

To ensure that the Department of Transportation and manufacturers are in “sync, a meticulous review of robotic controls is essential; Foxx addressed about 1200 people in San Francisco at a self-driving convention.

"This could help assure consumers that the vehicles that they are getting into are stress-tested," Foxx said.
"Sometimes the coolness of technology may drive people to try to push the limits beyond what the manufacturers intended," Foxx said.

Consumer activists quote the Telsa fatality as a clear example of improperly tested technology being allowed on the road.

A letter was released this week for stricter regulation of self-driving technology by Consumer Watchdog, a group critical of self-driving technology, and Joan Claybrook, a former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Autopilot's failure is "a poster child for why enforceable safety standards are needed, not useless voluntary guidelines," they wrote in the letter addressed to Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Mark Rosekind, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Musk defends Autopilot stating Brown’s crash as the first fatality in over 130 million miles of driving with this feature.

It’s unrealistic to expect self-driving cars to eradicate accidents with more testing said Foxx and the new goal is an 80% reduction in current traffic accidents. "Autonomous does not mean perfect," he said.

Foxx intends to recommend federal government guideline for such vehicles late summer.

Foxx remarked that he expects “some variation” of robotic cars available within the next 5 to 10 years. However, he predicted of taking "a couple of decades, maybe more, before full integration of the system."

2016 S-Class Mercedes: