New
York Times: Autonomous vehicles, which have already been
legalized in California, Nevada, and Florida, may become
commercially available nationwide within the decade. In the
meantime, a few car manufacturers have started implementing
some semiautonomous features, such as the ability to stay
centered in driving lanes and adjust speed based on the
distance from the car ahead. Companies such as Google, which
already has prototypes on the road, tout the safety benefits,
but others have voiced concern that such vehicles could be
compromised by computer hackers. In a statement issued this
week, the US Department of Transportation endorsed the testing
of autonomous vehicles, but added that "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."
