U.S. Signals Backing for Self-Driving Cars

first guidelines, which outlined safety expectations and encouraged uniform rules for the nascent technology. The instructions signaled to motorists that automated vehicles would not be a Wild West where companies can try anything without oversight, but were also vague enough that automakers and technology companies would not fear overregulation.

The new guidelines on Monday, which stopped short of official regulations, targeted four main areas. The Department of Transportation announced a 15-point safety standard for the design and development of autonomous vehicles; called for states to come up with uniform policies applying todriverless cars; clarified how current regulations can be applied to driverless cars; and opened the door for new regulations on the technology.

Regulators Step In as Companies Bet Big on Self-Driving Technology

Both Silicon Valley and Detroit are doubling down on their bets for autonomous vehicles.

• Tech companies and automakers are investing heavily in self-driving technology, including Ford, Google, Volvo, Tesla and BMW, among others.
• There is a range of technologies already in use for fully and semi-autonomous driving, including some that use lasers.
• A Barclays analyst predicted recently that once autonomous vehicles become widely used, auto sales could fall as much as 40 percent.

• Proponents say autonomous driving would reduce the number of people killed in traffic accidents. Last year, with nearly 40,000 auto-related deaths in the United States, was the deadliest since 2008.
• There have been safety concerns around the budding technology. A man was killed in May when his Tesla, in Autopilot mode, crashed into a tractor-trailer on a Florida highway.