What happens when the evolution of technology outpaces the development of laws intended to regulate the safe usage of those new capabilities? A confusing mix of local, state and federal regulations that threaten to slow down the technology altogether, unfortunately. That is the conundrum facing auto manufacturers, technology companies and other potential partners and suppliers, legislators and, ultimately, consumers--all of whom are contemplating how self-driving cars are shifting from the stuff of fantasy to real-world vehicles that may become as commonplace as a taxi or the second car in a two-car family.
Self-driving cars, or "robot cars" as some call them, will have a variety of obstacles in their path toward widespread adoption, not the least of which is consumer suspicion and fear of stepping inside a vehicle in which the conventional steering wheel and brake pedal are blatantly absent. However, the "greatest obstacle to these vehicles may be a patchwork of state and local laws," said Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota), who chaired the Senate Commerce Committee which heard testimony this week from representatives from General Motors Co., Google, and other companies that are working overtime to bring robot cars to the market. The theme shared by all of the officials: national standards are needed in order to get driverless cars on the road quickly and safely.
The number of laws is piling up
At the hearing, Chris Urmson, director of self-driving cars at Google, said that 53 separate pieces of legislation concerning self-driving vehicles have been introduced by 23 states in the past two years alone; five states have actually passed laws and one (Arizona) has issued an executive order, yet they all have contradictory licensing requirements, definitions, and guidelines for this burgeoning industry to follow.
In 2011, Nevada became the first state to authorize the operation of self-driving vehicles. Since then, California, Florida, Michigan, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington, DC have also passed self-driving vehicle legislation. Many of the laws started at square one-defining what autonomous vehicles and autonomous technology even are; specifying how they may operate on public roads; eliminating requirements that a driver be present in a vehicle; and adding endorsements to driver's licenses to include operation of autonomous vehicles. It all combines into a bewildering patchwork of legislation that differs from state to state and in some cases is internally inconsistent. Calling the fragmented approach thus far "unworkable," Urmson says that the lack of a single, uniform approach and uniform nationwide laws would essentially "slow down the process of deployment, add confusion, and detract from safety or the advancement of the technology.
Automakers putting the virtual pedal to the metal; not everyone is on board
Despite the lack of standardization, automakers are pouring billions into development to fast-track fully autonomous vehicles, and many cars already on
the road (in particular, the luxury car segment) or soon to come to market have some measure of autonomy available to the driver, such as emergency braking, lane return and parking assist, while other vehicles will have expanded capability to operate hands free and perform automatic lane changes. All of these innovations rely on a complicated mix of high-speed onboard computers, sensors and cameras to read and react to traffic conditions, stoplights, pedestrian traffic and various obstacles.
While their supporters purport self-driving vehicles as the way to reduce auto accidents, pollution and traffic congestion, others argue the vehicles are not truly ready to roll on public roads, pointing out technical challenges yet to be solved, such as an inability to operate in snow conditions. "Self-driving robot cars simply aren't ready to safely manage too many routine traffic situations without human intervention," said John Simpson, project director, Consumer Watchdog, at a hearing on the matter last week by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to collect input from stakeholders and produce policy guidance for states, auto manufacturers and technology companies specifying when and how self-driving vehicles should be allowed to travel the roads. The NHTSA has pledged to have the guidance available by July 2016. Interestingly, not every manufacturer feels that the fast pace is a safe one. A trade group representing various foreign manufacturers including Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., and Hyundai Motor Co. said that the NHTSA should consider pumping the brakes and "not bind itself to arbitrary, self-imposed deadlines at the expense of robust and thoughtful policy analysis," according to Paul Scullion, a safety manager and spokesperson for the group.
Others are less pessimistic about the rate of adoption; Swedish automaker Volvo (which was acquired by a Chinese automaker in 2010) has gone so far as to declare it would accept liability if one of its self-driving cars is involved in an accident and furthermore, self-driving cars will figure prominently in its plans to make certain that by the year 2020, no one is seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo. Touting the various benefits of self-driving vehicles, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said governments "need to put in place the legislation to allow [auto-driving] cars onto the streets as soon as possible," although he acknowledged that the auto industry needs assistance from the government to make it happen. Volvo will conduct road tests of self-driving cars in Sweden next year, then follow up with a public road test of up to 100 self-driving cars in China.
The road to good intentions
Without question, self-driving vehicles will increasingly edge humans out of the driver's seat in the years ahead. And if legislators, auto manufacturers and other stakeholders can work together to better synchronize policy and regulations, the futuristic concepts seen in movies like I, Robot and Minority Report may be in your driveway and on the road sooner 
than one might expect. The latest indicator that the U.S. government wants to greenlight adoption of a 21st century transportation network: Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced President Obama has proposed a nearly $4 billion investment in real-world pilot projects over a 10-year period to improve testing, development and adoption of automated vehicles and work with industry leaders to ensure a common framework for such vehicles. Secretary Foxx also revealed updated Department of Transportation and NHTSA policy guidance that eliminates administrative hurdles and spells out a pathway to make consistent national policy and widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles a reality.