We're 40% of the way to our goal of 2,500 donations by midnight! Help us catch up ⏩ Give Now

Uber testing the rules in California on self-driving cars

Sam Harnett Dec 20, 2016
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Rounak Maiti/Marketplace

Uber testing the rules in California on self-driving cars

Sam Harnett Dec 20, 2016
Rounak Maiti/Marketplace
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Uber is continuing to operate self-driving cars in San Francisco without a permit to test autonomous vehicles, despite a DMV order to stop. 

Uber’s refusal to get a permit could be a play to change the laws for autonomous cars. Many companies have a permit to test self-driving cars in California, among them Tesla, Honda and Google. Uber says it doesn’t need a permit because there’s a person behind the wheel, ready to take over.

But Susan Shaheen, an engineering professor at UC Berkeley, said many of the other companies that are testing cars could make the same argument.

Uber may be looking to push the state legislature’s hand in reforming the laws around autonomous vehicles, said Christopher Koopman, a researcher at George Mason University.  

The company may be betting that the risk is worth it, and that the regulator backlash won’t matter in the long run, said Jordan Barry, a law professor at the University of San Diego.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.