Don't fear autonomous, Waymo targets Uber's lawyers, and Lyft's taco controversy

Weekly analysis, news and randomness from the future of transportation.

Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved what could soon become the first federal legislation overseeing autonomous vehicles.

The bill, called the Self Drive Act, would exempt automakers' self-driving vehicles from federal safety standards and allow the vehicles to be tested on public roads. Companies would be allowed exemptions on 25,000 vehicles in the first year, 50,000 in year two and 100,000 in years three and four.

Of course, there is no guarantee the House will vote on the bill, which will sit at least until after the August recess and may come up for a vote in September.

But today's vote moves the idea of federal legislation closer to reality. Companies investing in self-driving tech have pushed for such legislation, arguing that if the federal government doesn't set rules and guidelines, the states will fill the void with a patchwork of competing regulations that will slow innovation and testing.

And makers of self-driving vehicles need testing time on public roads if the technology is to become safe enough for consumers.

If this legislation becomes law, it will mean many more self-driving beta tests happening in public. Technophobes may point to accidents involving self-driving cars (which are almost a certainty, because life happens) and say these vehicles are too unsafe to share the roads with those driven by humans.

But skeptics familiar with the technology say self-driving cars right now are about as safe as an average teen driver. Which is not great, (teen drivers are the least safe drivers on the road) but the technology will only get better as it matures.

And Waymo, which has by far the most miles test driven on public roads, has only had one at-fault accident. The rest of its crashes have happened when other cars hit the test driving vehicles.

It's going to take a long time for the public to trust self-driving cars. But that shouldn't stop us from allowing companies to move ahead with the technology. Eventually, self-driving vehicles will be much safer than those driven by humans. It will take time and testing to reach that goal, and the ability to keep accidents in perspective when they happen.

— Sharon Silke Carty

Well, this is awkward In the ongoing Waymo vs. Uber trade secrets suit, Waymo is seeking to disqualify Uber's outside legal counsel from the trial. The reason? The lawyers are the same ones who handled Uber's acquisition of Otto, the self-driving truck company now known as Ottomotto at the center of the suit. Waymo claims Uber's counsel helped cover up the alleged intellectual property theft and wants to call the lawyers as witnesses.

Green cars: The good, the bad, and the great big ban Toyota plans a long-range, fast-charging electric car for 2022, according to a Japanese newspaper. The news comes as Mirai owners run into a fairly predictable problem: not enough hydrogen stations. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom joins France in promising to ban gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040.

These governments are less-than-excited about mobility In San Francisco, City Attorney Dennis Herrera is trying to gain access to documents that may illustrate how ride-hailing services contribute to congestion. In India, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari took a firm stance against self-driving cars, citing concerns they would impact employment.

And the musical chairs goes on... The search for Uber's next CEO continues, this time with rumors swirling that the company is interested in Bank of America Vice Chairman Anne Finucane, Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman (who, for the record, isn't interested at all), and GE's Jeffrey Immelt. If the company wants to bolster its short list, we have some suggestions.

Lyft and Taco Bell finally get serious about late-night munchies. But Lyft drivers are not so happy with the arrangement.

This self-driving truck company rivaling Uber just raised funds from Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.

Silicon Valley: This 'AI' thing has really gone overboard.

'The Tesla of the Seas.'

A Breathalyzer for texting-and-driving.

This Kickstarter solution to drowsy driving will shock you.

Mercedes-Benz is introducing an autonomous parking valet at its museum in Germany.

You don't need an app when you have thousands of Internet strangers helping out.

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