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California Proposes Ban On Driverless Vehicles

The California DMV has proposed limits on the development of "driverless vehicles" - no robotic taxis just yet.

Under the proposal by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, all autonomous cars would need a steering wheel and pedals when operating on California’s public roads. Behind the controls, they would need a licensed driver with an “autonomous vehicle operator certificate” capable of taking control if something goes awry.

In a statement today, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said the agency’s main concern is “the safety of autonomous vehicles and the safety of the public who will share the road with these vehicles.”

The restrictions pretty much have in mind Larry Niven's 1976 novel World Out of Time an the bubble car:

She gestured him ahead of her, toward a bubble-car like those he had found in One City.

Mirelly-Lyra gestured to him to slide over... and climbed in beside him. She bent to the console, hesitated, then punched in numbers. "We go for your pressure suit," said the translator at her belt.

The car moved smoothly away. Mirelly-Lyra half relaxed; she was not steering. Already, Corbell knew that he could not return by car. He didn't know the destination number of the house.

Down the hill and into a narrow valley the car drove, accelerating.
(Read more about Larry Niven's bubble car)

Via Autonews.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/7/2015)

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