The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has made it close to being official: the A.I. of Google's self-driving car could be considered the driver in the same vein a human behind the wheel is treated by the law as the "driver" of a vehicle.
"We agree with Google its [self-driving vehicle] will not have a 'driver' in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the last more than one hundred years," the NHTSA said in a letter sent to Google. "If no human occupant of the vehicle can actually drive the vehicle, it is more reasonable to identify the 'driver' as whatever (as opposed to whoever) is doing the driving."
The agency's letter was sent Friday in response to Google's proposal made last November. It came amid an ongoing debate in the U.S. on the issue of whether driverless cars need licensed drivers onboard in order to be allowed on the streets. States like California seem to favor this setup, including the need to outfit autonomous cars with manual controls, Slate reported.
The NHTSA - for its part - cited that there are existing car safety regulations in place that could conflict with the notion of a software "driver." It proposed that Google seek an exemption to these rules so it can finally start to roll out fully automated vehicles.
The NHTSA's take on the driverless car issue is significant for Google, as it confirmed the company's position that a driver is not necessary in this mode of trasport, according to Business Insider.
"No human occupant of the SDV could meet the definition of driver in Section 571.3 given Google's described motor vehicle design, even if it were possible for a human occupant to determine the location of Google's steering control system, and sit immediately behind it, that human occupant would not be capable of actually driving the vehicle as described by Google," the agency added.
