Industry stakeholders have gathered in a Capitol Hill forum on Tuesday. At least one person have openly criticized California's proposed changes in self-driving test guidelines. Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at Toyota Motor North America Hilary Cain has even called it preposterous.
The New NHTSA Guidelines Will Become Mandatory
According to Reuters, California's proposal means that automakers are required to submit the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) a 15-point safety checklist.
This means that the supposed NHTSA voluntary driving guidelines will now become mandatory. If automakers can't do that, they will not be able to test vehicles in the state of California.
Cain's preposterous comment just described the effect of such proposal to an automated system in general. She added that it will cease the current testing of such vehicles. Furthermore, future tests could be delayed.
California's Proposed Change To Their Guidelines
According to Tech Crunch, the proposed change includes permission of test vehicles without human drivers and steering wheels. However, the cars should have two-way communication. It also needs to have an approval from NHTSA. This is exactly what Cain has pointed out.
Self-driving test vehicles were previously required to be tested by a third-party.
Reuters also reports that there will be a public hearing on Oct. 18 about the said proposal.
Other Self-Driving Car Makers
Cain is not the only one who raised an issue in the forum. Apparently, former NHTSA Administrator David Strickland questioned NHSTA's ability to review all of the data required on self-driving vehicles. Strickland now represents Google's Alphabet Inc., Ford Motor Co. and Uber Technologies.
But Cain was even blunt to say that the NHTSA guidelines may be too vague. She is asking for a more specific guidance.
Tech Crunch was able to receive an official statement from Toyota about the matter. They said that they look forward to working with NHTSA.
Toyota mentioned that automakers and the NHTSA should come up with guidelines that are best for the consumers. Their safety will be considered first before anything else.
