Probably the biggest genuine hindrance to the current acceleration of Driverless Cars is the thorny legal liability issue.

The question will be resolved –  anything can be resolved when there’s money to be made – but the first questions are now needing answering.

The LA Times reports:

Members of the Senate Transportation Committee voted to support the legislation by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) but sent it back to other committees for additional hearings on the liability issues.

Google and other technology companies have been working for years on “autonomous vehicle” systems that would allow cars to operate safely without a human driver. Anthony Levandowski of Google told the lawmakers that technology is possible “that drives better than a person” and would reduce the number of car accidents on California roads.

SB 1298 would direct the California Highway Patrol to develop standards and performance requirements for the safe testing and operation of autonomous vehicles on the state’s roads and highways, Padilla said.

The concern arose when lobbyists representing the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers questioned who would get sued when vehicles are retro-fitted to include Driverless Car tech – such as what Google is doing – then end up failing.

While the chances that a manufacturer would get sued for those sorts of failures are quite slim, the concern needs resolving.

New DARPA Challenge

In other news, DARPA has launched their latest challenge. It’s moving away from autonomous vehicle technology and towards humanoid robots, however one specific request is that the robot must be able to enter and drive a car.

More details here and thanks to Gabriel who sent us the link.

Related posts:

1. Driverless Car Regulations Introduced in California
2. Nevada DMV Head – “This is going to revolutionize driving.”
3. $1billion prize for 100MPG Car To Be Introduced In California