The governor of Michigan today signed into law a series of bills that allows fully autonomous vehicles, including those without drivers and steering wheels, to begin using public roadways.
Flanked by a Ford Model T and a self-driving Ford Fusion, Gov. Rick Snyder signed four bills as part of the autonomous vehicles legislative package that allows the operation of autonomous vehicles on Michigan public roads. Before, only testing of the vehicles by manufacturers was permitted.
"As far as I know, Michigan is the first state to make it official that these types of vehicles can be used on public roads," said Brandon Schoettle, a project manager with the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute.
"California is also planning to enact similar legislation soon. Obviously, the general act of vehicles driving around like this on any public roads is somewhat unprecedented anywhere, given the very recent introduction of such technology," Schoettle said.
Here it comes folks, that future thing that everybody is always talking about.
My daughter and I have been arguing about autonomous cars for a while now.
She is against them, likes to drive herself, and I am all for them.
I'm getting older and I like the idea that technology will allow me to be independent and able to get around on my own even after my reflexes are shot and my eyesight dims.
Hell I already have a machine that cleans my clothes, a robot that vacuums my house, and several technological devices that allow me to converse with people from all over the world from the comfort of my office in Alaska.
So why wouldn't I be willing to trust a machine to get me around town on its own?
And who will be liable when there are accidents? Can we sue Gov. Snyder?
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
If only you had a device to help you count electoral votes.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, here's one
Trump 306
Clinton 232
Welcome to the wilderness loser
You along with the rest of the people who voted for a crtein like Trump are the real losers. Republicans should be SO proud for him to even be the nominee of their party.
DeleteWithout Comey's letter, Clinton would have won in a landslide.
DeleteYou and all the other thing's voters who are not billionaires are going to be crying in your soup kitchen meals very soon.
Ha. 8:20 believes whatever their Democrat masters tell them to believe. This election couldn't have happened too soon.
DeleteIf only there were machines to count votes.
DeleteClinton 65,749,394
Trump 62,905,364
Who's the loser now? Yeah, there's a big fat LOSER going to the White House. Biggest LOSER ever.
Be sure to catch today's Olbermann The Resistance on Trump's Cabinet of Batman Villains.
Trump 306 to Clinton 232.
DeleteA blowout. Total blowout.
Ha!
Hardly a blowout. Trump barely has more popular votes than Michael Dukakis. You know. President Dukakis. No. Wait.
DeleteAs far as the electoral, he's not even close to a blowout there either. But it's tedious trying to correct the rabid Trumptomaniacs. Their alternate reality doesn't include facts or the internet.
Bottom line, no mandate. 54% of VOTERS are against him. The majority of the American people are against him. He'll never have the approval ratings to be anything but the LOSER he is.
Can't wait to see how many electors abandon him as unfit to lead and a danger to this country.
Because of all the accidents that will be caused by drivers gawking at it. Stupid, stupid idea. If only all that money developing such an unnecessary thing -- just to prove it could be done -- could have been used to help avert Climate Change.
ReplyDeleteReally? Do you even notice other drivers? Cars, yes. But those inside? Hardly.
DeleteI can't wait to drink and ride. Can't. Wait.
DeleteI can't wait to get one if they aren't too cost prohibitive at the beginning. At sixty, it would be great to have one of these cars. I imagine your daughter will change her mind in the years to come.
ReplyDeleteYour washing machine, your robot vacuum cleaner, and your devices you use to converse with people aren't really capable of killing someone else when the conditions on the road change quickly as they often do during a rain or snow storm.
ReplyDeleteThe Michigan governor and legislature are giving everyone a shiny new object to pay attention to for christmas. Any idea when the governor and legislators will be sitting in one of these cars for their morning commute or to travel to their vacation hotspot in Flint? Tomorrow? Next week? Twenty years from now?
I'm still waiting on my flying car I was promised.
I think that our Governor Snyder will be grabbing his carpetbag and fleeing the state as fast as he can in two years when his second term ends.
DeleteBeaglemom
Yep, still waiting on my personal jet-pac here...
DeleteThank you, 5:43. I don't care what robots people have in their homes. Heck, people can have robot lovers and if the lovers go berserk and fry their humans' genitals or twist their heads off, I don't give a flying fig. But when in public, forget it. And, no, I don't want to hear that there will still be many more accidents caused by humans. We know that. Any negatives regarding humans are met by negatives regarding machines, and machines will never understand nuance the way a human can.
DeleteIt's Michigan.
DeleteI'm sure the fine print says only if they're built in Michigan.
Speaking as a Michigander, the autonomous cars' performance likely won't be any worse than that of the many human chowderheads behind the wheel.
DeleteThis will never work in Mich. These cars depend on being able to "read" the lines on the road, therefore useless in winter and also on all the roads they can't be bothered to fix.
DeleteWhat ever happened to the billion dollar surplus that King Rick Synder was bragging about when he ran for re-election?
Certainly never used to fix the roads.
Where we live in Michigan, Anon at 8:54 pm, there are lines on the roads that disappeared years ago. No one knows if the are two lane or four lane any more. And you're right, as soon as the roads are snow or ice covered, there's no way to detect a line on the road anyway. And here, roads are at least partially snow/ice covered for at least four months a year.
DeleteBeaglemom
I'm looking forward to self-driving cars as well since my long distance driving skills have eroded (since I moved to the east coast over 20 years ago). One would enable me to go places that I could not drive myself. BUT these suckers had better be hack-proof!
ReplyDeleteM from Md
I just wanted to say good morning G. Interesting story.
ReplyDeleteHeidiWy
A driver less car (Tesla) has already been responsible for one death. There are about 32,000 deaths per year by auto accident. I hope these computers can cut the number of auto deaths, but they are not infallible. I'm sure. like any other computer, they can be hacked. Thousands of driver less cars hacked at the same time would create a great danger.
ReplyDeleteResearch that incident with Tesla and see if you still feel that way, please.
DeleteF that S.
ReplyDeleteI'll be in control of my own destiny thank you.
Reality Check: With the cell phones, texting, tv watching, eating and etc., a lot of cars are already driver-less. Throw in people that do not obey traffic laws, the shitty drivers, and the agressive ones...coupled with road rage.
ReplyDeleteJust wait till the trucking companies start using driver less Semi trucks. It's coming sooner than you think and all those drivers... out of a job.
ReplyDeleteNot in your or your children's lifetime.
Delete8:45AM
DeleteYou are wrong. They are already testing them on one highway in Ohio.
Oh goodie, run away, driverless semis going 80 down the highway !!!
DeleteSorry 4:46. But not in your or your children's lifetime.
DeleteEven George Jetson operated his own vehicle.
ReplyDeleteGood point!
DeleteWhy not? They've already allowed ballot-less election winners.
ReplyDelete