Google’s computers have been officially recognised as the driver of the company’s self-driving cars, a major step towards the rise of autonomous vehicles.
The US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it will recognise the car’s software as the “driver… if no human occupant of the vehicle can actually drive” in a letter to Google
But the NHTSA said in its letter: “NHTSA will interpret ‘driver’ in the context of Google’s described motor vehicle design as referring to the SDS [self-driving system], and not to any of the vehicle occupants. We agree with Google its SDV [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.”
“No human occupant of the SDV could meet the definition of ‘driver’… 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.”
“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. In this instance, an item of motor vehicle equipment, the SDS, is actually driving the vehicle.”
The decision could be a significant step towards the legal recognition of driverless cars and their liability for any incidents, which is crucial for their eventual appearance on public roads.
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