On Monday night, State Sen. Jeff Brandes tweeted to his followers: “Under Pressure, Google May Slow Rollout of Driverless Car Technology.”
Brandes’ tweet linked to a July 18 Wall Street Journal article, where the technology giant’s senior management is responding to cautions from legal experts not to move too fast with driverless cars. Google executives might be holding back from rolling out a product in the next few years.
Publically, Google representatives want “Google Cars” on the road as soon as possible — as early as 2017 — but privately, the legal liabilities and public perceptions of safety may force them to put those plans in neutral.
Other options the company is considering for first-generation products are a driverless vehicle with maximum speeds of 25 miles-per-hour and a foam front end to protect drivers in case of an accident.
Regardless of what features driverless cars will have, the five-year timeline means that Google has to decide now how to proceed.
Google’s technology for driverless cars is already well developed. It has a fleet of about 20 vehicles, logging more than 500,000 miles on public roads, which have negotiated heavy traffic, stoplights and pedestrians.
Ultimately, technology will determine the future of driverless cars. Once the technology is ready, according to experts, public policy and laws will follow.
Brandes, the Republican from St. Petersburg, does have significant skin in the driverless car game.
In the 2012 session, the Legislature approved a measure that made Florida the second state in the nation to adopt autonomous vehicle technology. As the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, Brandes spearheaded the idea.
“I am glad that our local community leaders are taking the bold steps to bring technology solutions to our growing community,” Brandes said announcing the project.
“With projects like these,” he added, “Tampa Bay will be at the cutting edge of transportation innovation.”
