Driverês license for self-driving cars?
Just like people, autonomous vehicles should be required to pass a driverês license test, say two University of Michigan researchers. Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the U-Mich Transportation Research Institute offer some reasons why that idea makes sense:
« The variability of software and hardware at different automakers results in varied road performance.
« Self-driving vehicles donêt perform consistently in foul weather.
« Autonomous vehicles canêt always recognize obstacles, such as downed power lines or flooded roadways.
« Autonomous vehicles occasionally face ethical dilemmas, such as a forced decision between hitting another car or swerving onto the sidewalk and hitting pedestrians.
One possibility is a provisional driverês license, with which autonomous vehicles would be permitted to drive in any situation –except at night or in the snow– until the software is improved.
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