California threatens Uber with legal action over self-driving cars

State regulators in
California have
ordered Uber to
"cease the operations"
of its autonomous
cars until it receives
state permission.


The
company is currently
running a pilot
scheme in San
Francisco and
Pittsburgh.              On the day it rolled out its
self-driving car fleet in its
hometown of San
Francisco, ride-hailing
company Uber was
threatened will legal action
from the California
Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV).
"If Uber does not confirm
immediately that it will stop
its launch and seek a testing
permit, DMV will initiate
legal action," the DMV said
in a letter on Wednesday.
Uber responded, however,
saying they knew about the
permit, but argued that its
cars do not meet the state's
definition of an
"autonomous vehicle "
because they require a
person behind the wheel to
monitor and intervene if
necessary.
California defines
autonomous vehicles as
cars that have the
"capability" to drive
"without the active physical
control or monitoring of a
natural person."
The DMV has so far issued
permits to 20 companies for
tests of autonomous
vehicles on public roads,
mostly a collection of
traditional automakers and
tech companies - but not
Uber.
Necessary human
monitoring
Wednesday's launch in San
Francisco marked an
expansion in Uber's
deployment of self-driving
cars, which it first launched
in Pittsburgh in September.
The trial allows everyday
people to experience the
cars while Uber works to
identify glitches before
expanding the technology's
use elsewhere.
Uber's self-driving tests in
San Francisco will begin
with a "handful" of Volvo
luxury SUVs which have
been equipped with sensors,
enabling the cars to steer,
accelerate brake, and even
decide to change lanes.
Uber believes its technology
is ready to handle all this
safely, though according to
Anthony Levandowski, the
leader of Uber's self-driving
program, Uber's cars simply
aren't advanced enough to
drive themselves without
human monitoring. "We're
just not capable of doing
that yet," he said.
"Therefore, the Volvos are
not autonomous and do not
require a
permit," Levandowski
added.
Operating without a permit
arguably gives Uber a
competitive advantage.
Companies with one must
report to the state all
crashes and every instance
in which a person takes
control during testing.
All that information is
public. To receive a permit,
a company must show proof
of insurance, pay a $150 fee
and agree that a human
driver can take control of
the vehicle.
Uber runs red light
Once the pilot scheme
comes to an end, the Uber's
ultimate vision is to sell
technology to the
public which supporters
argue will save thousands
of lives because it doesn't
drink, text, fall asleep or
take dangerous risks.
Adding to Uber's woes on
Wednesday, local media
aired a video of a self-
driving Uber running a red
light, which was captured
by a bystander.
Uber said the incident was
caused by human error -
suggesting that the car was
not in autonomous mode -
and was not carrying
passengers. The driver has
reportedly been suspended.

ksb/kl (Reuters, AP)