HOUSTON — Self-driving cars are the wave of the future.
The Texas Department of Transportation hopes to lead the way to autonomous cars by creating a new special task force that will help make that happen.
The Connected and Autonomous (CAV) Vehicle Task Force is designed to help build on ongoing efforts to make autonomous cars a reality.
The auto industry is moving toward self-driving cars but the feature is not available on models at the Houston Auto Show.
A lot of car companies are taking steps that could get us there sooner than later. For instance, the age of chrome bumpers and power wagons may be long gone but these classic trucks have paved the way for the high tech rides we see today.
Roshelle Salinas with the Houston Auto Show said, “Many manufacturers are pouring lots of money into the research for autonomous vehicles because they all want to stay above the next and they’re all looking forward to it. It’s definitely coming in the next decades.”
Car makers like Nissan already have safety features that may one day help move toward self-driving cars. Steve Parrett, manager of Nissan Communications for the central and southeast regions said, “That assists you in keeping the vehicle centered in the lane. It will also bring the vehicle to a stop for you and it will start it for you.”
Parrett said the goal is to make roads safer.
“Zero accidents and zero fatalities,” Parrett said. “That’s our push and these vehicles are getting smarter and smarter and hopefully we can really reduce the number of accidents and fatalities with these types of driver assist programs like Pro-pilot assist.”
TxDOT knows the car industry is on the verge of autonomous technology.
“Our goal is to further build on the momentum already established with the Texas Technology Task Force and the Texas Innovation Alliance, and work with interested parties on the latest and greatest in CAV projects and enhancements,” said TxDOT Executive Director James Bass. “We look forward to furthering these important efforts as connected and autonomous vehicles become reality.”
Also, Salinas said, “Having a task force is definitely going to build a better team to get their faster.”
However, she said there’s still a lot of things to figure out before self-driving cars become a reality.
“So what are the city codes, rules? How are we going to safety inspect autonomous vehicles? We issue driver’s license to a driver. How do you issue a driver’s license to a vehicle?” Salinas said.
The CAV Task Force would also coordinate with lawmakers to development laws that would apply to self-driving cars.