Georgia could be first to have driverless cars

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia could become one of the first states to test driverless cars on local county roads.

Fayette Commission Chairman Steve Brown confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that he's talked to Google about bringing the technology to the county.
 
The county commission approved a resolution authorizing Fayette County as a pilot site in metropolitan Atlanta for "autonomous vehicle design, development and testing."
 
"Fayette County has the least traffic congestion of metro counties, so for a company like Google that wants to log a lot of miles, we'd be the perfect place, because they wouldn't be bogged down in traffic," Brown told Channel 2's Rachel Stockman.
 
"We (Georgia) missed a lot of opportunities because we weren't prepared for the Internet boom, but I think with this, we'd be out in front," Brown said.
 
Channel 2 Action News went to Georgia Tech to get a firsthand look at the technology and the challenges.
 
"Our research is involved in trust, not just how humans trust the self-driving cars, but also how the self-driving cars can and should trust humans," said Don Davis, chief for Robotics and Autonomous Systems at Georgia Tech.
 
Not only testing how the cars and human drivers would interact, but also exploring new concerns about cyber-attacks.
 
"With cars being connected to wireless networks, it is important to detect and deter any cyber-attacks, just like you would any other critical network," Davis said.
 
Other questions remain, like what happens if an accident occurs with a driverless vehicle, and whether the vehicles should be licensed.
 
"It is to be determined how to address that there will have to be some kind of certification for the vehicle just like there are for people," Davis said.
 
The Fayette chairman says he is working to set up a meeting with the Governor's staff.

WSBTV