Just Arrived: The First Federal Safety Guidelines for Automated Vehicles

Cecilia King reports: "Federal auto safety regulators on Monday made it official: They are betting the nation’s highways will be safer with more cars driven by machines and not people."

King is reporting big news relevant to the "autonomous future," after the U.S Department of Transportation announced the first safety guidelines for self-driving cars. According to King, the guidelines included four 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 to driverless cars; clarified how current regulations can be applied to driverless cars; and opened the door for new regulations on the technology.

The guidelines come as advancements in the development of the driverless technology are coning quick. Just last week, Uber began offering trial rides in driverless cars to loyal customers in Pittsburgh.

President Barack Obama has also chimed in on the potential regulation of the nascent technology, publishing an editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In the editorial, President Obama argues that self-driving cars should make the nation's roads safer than they are now.

For additional commentary on the newly announced guidelines, Greg Gardner produced a list of ten observations and questions "after reading the highlights of the Federal Automated Vehicles policy overview, reviewing recent safety data and listening to multiple conference calls with regulators and industry officials…"