Auto safety regulators outlined plans this week to analyze the safety hazards and benefits of self-driving vehicles by 2017.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has "urged" states to not allow operation of autonomous cars for purposes other than testing.
If states don't listen however, they should require those drivers to undergo special training and have them obtain special licenses according to Reuters.
"Self-driving vehicle technology is not yet at the stage of sophistication or demonstrated safety capability that it should be authorized for use by members of the public for general driving purposes," the agency said in its report.
The recommendations were a part of NHTSA's preliminary policy on "driverless cars." Vehicles being studied can be operated without direct driver input to control steering, braking or acceleration according to the policy.
A study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates in April showed that people are warming up to the idea of a driverless car, but preferred features like emergency braking and automatic park assistance to a fully autonomous mode according to the study.
Companies like General Motors, Toyota, and Ford feature vehicles that come equipped with some form of automation, but none of them have developed a completely driverless car.
NHTSA will now research the safety risks of vehicles with higher levels of automation. The agency will study how the driver interacts with these vehicles as well as ways to make the car's electronic control systems more "secure and reliable" according to Reuters.
"We see tremendous promise in these technologies whether you're looking at the current active safety systems in some vehicles today or whether you're looking at a truly autonomous vehicle," David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said today in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.
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