US now at 'historic turning point' on driverless cars

States that are considering allowing driverless cars on their road should standardize their regulations of automated vehicles, the Obama administration said in a new policy issued on Thursday.

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it was issuing recommendations for driverless cars because companies like Google are developing automated technologies for vehicles and several states are beginning to approve their use.

NHTSA said in its policy that it does not believe driverless cars are ready for widespread use, but it said it wanted to “encourage” further testing of the newest technologies by providing guidance to states.

“We offer these recommendations to state drafters of legislation and regulations governing the licensing, testing, and operation of self-driving vehicles on public roads in order to encourage the safe development and implementation of automated vehicle technology, which holds the potential for significant long-term safety benefits,” NHTSA wrote.

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