No steering wheel or driver for next Google cars

Soon Google’s autonomous cars won’t require any human intervention by law. This comes from a recent letter posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website which gave new freedom to the development of autonomous cars.

The NHTSA will allow Google to continue its programme without the software company needing to install brake pedal, throttle pedal or even a steering wheel in their cars. With nothing physical to operate, there is no need for a driver… the definition of a driver is no longer valid.

NHTSA’s letter states, “We agree with Google its SDV [self-driving vehicles] will not have a driver in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the last more than one hundred years.”

With 360-degreee radar and camera guidance, Google autonomous cars soon won’t need conventional wing mirrors and after that other common design requirements – which have defined the motor vehicle since its datum point – will slowly be removed.

With this defining moment in autonomous cars, expect a few new rule provisions to follow. Read our story on Ford’s rumoured partnership with Google here.