The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a 14-page report outlining the potential benefits driverless cars may have on society, saying such technology, even in limited forms, could potentially save thousands of lives per year.
However, the regulatory body governing automobiles has recommended that states and companies curious to explore driverless cars limit the vehicles to research purposes only, saying such technology isn't ready to hit the pavement quite yet.
"We believe there are a number of technological issues as well as human performance issues that must be addressed before self-driving vehicles can be made widely available," NHTSA said in a prepared statement.
The agency recommends that the drivers behind the wheel in self-driving cars understand how to fully operate the vehicle and take control of the car in the event something something goes wrong, among other things.
The NHTSA recommendations come at the request of states which are considering allowing self-driving cars to operate on public roads. Currently, only California, Nevada and Florida allow self-driving cars to operate in public spaces. For safety reasons, many states and car companies have been hesitant to use driverless technology.
"NHTSA is right telling states to slow down, think this through and don't rush into regulating driverless vehicles until there is more research," Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association said to USA Today.
To help guide categorize the various types of driverless technology, the agency established a five-tier rating system. The system starts at level zero, where there is no automation featured in a car.
Level one will be for function specific automation, like stability control and assisted braking in emergency situations.
Level two features combined automatic functions, allowing two primary control functions to be automated and act in unison - like cruise control and lane centering technologies.
Level three is limited to automatic systems which are capable of taking over all functions under limited condition, like Google's experimental driverless car.
Finally, level four is self-driving vehicles which only requires a destination to be put into its system. This level allows for both occupied and unoccupied cars.
"Whether we're talking about automated features in cars today or fully automated vehicles of the future, our top priority is to ensure these vehicles - and their occupants - are safe," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a prepared statement. "Our research covers all levels of automation, including advances like automatic braking that may save lives in the near term, while the recommendations to states help them better oversee self-driving vehicle development, which holds promising long-term safety benefits."
The agency said it will conduct a four-year study to properly research self-driving vehicles, and plans to establish more concrete requirements for driverless cars within the next two years.
