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By Erik Thorstenson of WebboScreed
SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - The California Senate today approved a long-debated bill allowing persons as young as 12 years old to be more or less in control of an automated vehicle.
The bill comes after new technologies developed by auto makers and implemented in cars such as the Ford Libertad!, which was introduced on the market in 2009, have made it possible for automobiles to be completely automated, requiring only the input of the driver's desired destination. The technology uses global positioning (GPS) navigation to obtain real-time location information, much like the On-Star systems installed in late nineties-model cars. A computer then processes the coordinates and compares them to a preprogrammed map of the road. Course adjustments are then made to keep the car on the right path. Local radar is used to detect other nearby vehicles, including those that lack the new navigational systems. This is necessary to avoid accidents caused by approaching too quickly behind a slow-moving truck, for example, or by changing lanes on top of another car.
Until this year, a person had to be 17 years old in order to drive in the state of California, but the new bill passed today allows those as young as 12 to be more or less in control of an automated car. They cannot take physical control of the steering wheel, and are only allowed to travel within an area predetermined and preprogrammed into the car by their parents. The car is also programmed to travel no faster than the set speed limit.
The bill met opposition from groups stating that the system was too new and had not been tested enough. They feared that the system might fail at an inopportune time, causing major accidents. Ford responded to the claims by presenting evidence of literally millions of simulated tests and hundreds of on-road tests using the new automated systems that had been performed before they had ever even announced the concept of the automated car. Not once had there been an accident in any test. This evidence seems to have been enough to convince the lawmakers in California that the cars are in fact safe.
There are only two other states, Montana and Texas, that are currently considering similar legislation to permit younger drivers of automated vehicles.