This, however, is not about the entire United States, but only Florida, where the local Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law eliminating most of the barriers to technology companies wishing to bring truly Autonomous vehicles in real road conditions, not on polygons. Beginning July 1, 2019, automakers and technology companies will be allowed to test driverless cars on public roads without the need of control by the person, ready at any moment to seize control of the vehicle itself.
What is the future of unmanned vehicles?
According to DeSantis, “the new law makes Florida the most open for unmanned vehicles.”
As noted, the only condition is the compliance of the prototypes of the basic rules of road safety and the availability of insurance. So, when the tested machine is the operator, in case of failure the car can continue driving with their emergency lights. If the problem happens at the time when the cabin is not a person, a car must be able to independently and safely pull to the curb and stop.
It is also important to note that the law also clearly stipulates that the operator of the vehicle will be considered the system of self-control, when you activate it, even if at this point the car will be passengers. Thus the state imposes greater responsibility on the manufacturer of the system in the event of an accident. Thus, if something goes wrong, as it were, for example, in the incident 2018, when the unmanned Uber car knocked down a pedestrian, the manufacturer will not be able to wriggle out of responsibility words like, “just our driver was not careful.”
At the same time, according to Digital Trends, drone lost some traffic rules in force in Florida. For example, operators can use smartphones and even watching TV shows in that time, as the drivers of normal cars for that kind of behavior face heavy fines and even imprisonment.
According to local lawmakers, such exceptions would help technology companies to quickly fulfill their promises at the conclusion of the technology of unmanned vehicles to the mass market.
A law passed in Florida, became a precedent not only in the United States. It seems, according to the journalists, the world’s first legal document allowing robots to self-driving. But it’s actually not. For example, not so long ago we reported that Sweden has started commercial operation of fully Autonomous trucks T-pod company Einride. They will move between the distribution terminals and warehouses logistic company DB Schenker. Permit the operation of trucks issued until 31 December 2020.
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