A Huge Step Forward for The Self-Driving Car

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Remember when humans used to drive around two ton machines at high speeds daily? It was a freedom celebrated with the roaring engines of the muscle car era of the 1960s and ’70s. 

But today, pedal to the medal is giving way to no pedal at all as self-driving car technology continues to improve. 

The future of the automobile received a significant boost this past week when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) informed Google that computers now qualify as drivers.

The letter states that “NHTSA will interpret ‘driver’ in the context of Google’s described motor vehicle design as referring to the self-driving system, and not to any of the vehicle occupants.”

Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, joins The Takeaway to discuss just how significant that interpretation is, and what this means for the future of driving.