A Google self-driving car is displayed at the Google headquarters on September 25, 2012. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
To prepare for a terrifying yet inevitable future where self-driving cars roam the streets, the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has proposed a set of regulations for autonomous vehicles.
Published in Friday’s D.C. Register, the rule would require a person “to obtain an “A” endorsement on his or her driver license from the Director before the person may operate an autonomous vehicle in the District, even if the person intends to operate an autonomous vehicle only in the non-autonomous mode” via a $20 application process. (Why would you have a self-driving car but drive it yourself? Not addressed.)
An applicant for an “A” endorsement shall as part of the application:
Acknowledge that the he or she is subject at all times to the traffic laws and other laws applicable to drivers and motor vehicles operated in the District and that, for the purpose of enforcing the traffic laws and other laws applicable to drivers and motor vehicles operated in the District, he or she will be deemed the driver of an autonomous vehicle that he or she is operating in autonomous mode; Certify that he or she was trained by a vehicle manufacturer or a vehicle dealer in the operation of an autonomous vehicle and has received instruction concerning the capabilities and limitations of an autonomous vehicle; and Provide such additional information as the Director deems necessary to determine the competency and eligibility of the applicant to operate an autonomous vehicle in autonomous mode.
Councilmember Mary Cheh has been a vocal supporter of self-driving car, even taking a spin in 2012 and proposing the bill that led to the DMV’s regulations.
Nine out of ten Americans fear this future.
