The Department of Transportation's new automated vehicle policies delineate the role of the state and federal government, meet safety standards, create a model state regulatory framework and establish new legal codes that it will eventually apply to self-driving cars. The Department of Transportation has made it clear that safety is the primary concern. Self-driving cars automate a wide array of maneuvers in their systems, but the level of complexity can vary significantly, which is why the Department of Transportation is adopting the SAE International definitions for the level of automation to regulate each level accordingly. Of course, there are and will be many challenges with highly automated vehicles. For example, legislation for conventional vehicles has specific guidelines to notify the driver when something happens. For a self-driving car, who or what do officials notify?
