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And I'm very glad Uber is doing that! The DMVs need valid "reasons" to extract money. With human drivers, they can argue a database record must be maintained f
by devereaux 10y ago
And I'm very glad Uber is doing that!
The DMVs need valid "reasons" to extract money. With human drivers, they can argue a database record must be maintained for traffic violations, a new license reissued every N years, etc. This is "plausible deniability", because there is no reason why it would cost tens of dollars per row in a database.
With self driving cars, plausible deniability goes away. There is no reason whatsoever. If the algorithm does not follow traffic laws, it won't be allowed on the road.
Another nice thing to notice: the DMV is double dipping. I mean, one fee for the self-driving car, another fee for the human behind the wheel, what a profitable operation! But why exactly? What kind of good services is it offering? None at all.
Self driving cars could mean the end of DMVs, and I would see that as a very good thing.
- eridius 10y agoIt's not $150 per vehicle. It's just $150. It's a permit for the company, not a license for the car. Edit: It's very slightly more complicated. The human "drivers" in the car also have to be enrolled in the DMV's Employer Pull Notice program (which is a separate pre-existing program that basically lets employers keep track of the driving records of their drivers), and I believe the fee for that is $5. So it's basically pocket change for the company. The PDF that lists that fee is the Employer Pull Notice Application Checklist (https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/1c4c241b-70be-45f3-aece-5269fe9df5c5/inf2113.pdf?MOD=AJPERES https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/1c4c241b-70be-45f3...).
- silencio 10y agoYou have to pay vehicle registration fees every year. I don't see how this is all that different from that. I can't imagine that $150 - even if it was per car, which it's not - even covers the overhead of ensuring that the company trying to test vehicles on public roads meets their minimum criteria. The requirements are pretty straightforward - following NHTSA guidance, insurance to cover injury/death, having a program in place to train drivers... this is the bare minimum responsible amount I would want these companies to be asked to do.
- Mtinie 10y agoI pay more for a minimally-sized instance for a non-trafficked web app on DigitalOcean every year. Uber has no legitimate reason to not pay the fee, regardless of the validity. This is just a company attempting to "screw the Man", even though they are basically the peak representation of SV Man.