In an op-ed article featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, United States President Barack Obama gave his blessings to autonomous cars saying that with a right plan, Tesla and other self-driving car manufacturers can save tens of thousands of lives a year.
15 Point Plan
The Obama administration will come to an end soon, and with the presidential elections just around the corner, the administration wants to give a last blow to leave a legacy and this is through supporting self-driving cars.
According to statistics, 35,200 people were killed in traffic accidents in the United States last year, and 94% did so as a result of human error. This is a figure that the President can not accept without doing anything about. Through autonomous cars this problem will be eliminated, it just need a little more testing and more rules which the administration will work into.
Obama compares the advancement of semi-automatic cars with the evolution of camera phones. The technology is to make people's lives better, it just doesnt have the right gizmos as of now.
Therefore, the Secretary of Transportation of the United States, Anthony Foxx, has unveiled the outlines of a 15-point plan that aims to promote road safety through autonomous driving technology .
The US Administration will require manufacturers such as Tesla to submit a safety plan with 15 key requirements to ensure that the design, the level of testing and development of these vehicles be prepared to ensure safe movement on roads. The builders will have to explain among other things, how self-driving cars can react if dilemmas arise on the road and if their owners should do some practice with the vehicle before using it on the road.
The plan also pays special attention to the privacy of users, which must be taken into account by the manufacturer, or its protection against computer hacks, and regulates how cars can communicate with their passengers and other people present on the road.
Always Has Been A Supporter
President Obama has always shown a support in fuel efficiency and green vehicles. It is recalled that while he was senator for the state of Illinois carrying a Chrysler 300C over 400 horsepower, but during his race for the presidency in 2008, this was replaced by a Ford Escape hybrid, much more respectful of the environment where it was revealed that Obama is the one who really insist to have the car. Finally, he had no choice but to get on the presidential armored vehicle, the 'Cadillac One' known as The Beast , for security reasons.
Alliances and strategies
As of today, the autonomous vehicle industry is thriving as techological companies are forming alliances and strategies. Google for example had choose to partner with Lexus to make their own two-seater self-driving car. Uber allied with Volvo to introduce autonomous car hailing. Tesla, meanwhile, is a pioneer and made their own autopilot software. For more than a year ago it is rumored that Apple could also join this wave of innovation as they've hired engineers but is yet to be revealed.
Ford and Toyota, America's most sought out car brands, are also riding in the innovation. According to calculations, by 2021, both cars may have produced a self driving car.
It just goes to say that if Obama's plan goes well, driver's license might no longer be needed in the future.
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