---
title: "Senator: Humans Could Be “Test Dummies” For Self-Driving Cars"
description: "U.S. states are left to piece together safety regulations for self-driving car companies, and often they're not very strong."
date: "2019-12-01"
modified: "2019-12-01"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/senator-humans-test-dummies-self-driving-cars"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Self-Driving Vehicles"
tags:
  - "Self-driving cars"
  - "the digest"
  - "transportation"
---

# Senator: Humans Could Be “Test Dummies” For Self-Driving Cars

![U.S. states are left to piece together safety regulations for self-driving car companies, and often they're not very strong.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/senator-humans-test-dummies-self-driving-cars.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NHTSA\</em\>*

## Free Rein

When it comes to testing self-driving cars and making sure that their software is both safe and street legal, tech companies have a surprising amount of free rein.

At least, that's the takeaway from a series of government meetings during which it became clear that regulatory framework cobbled together by [individual U.S. states](<https://futurism.com/florida-law-self-driving-cars>) is likely insufficient to keep the nascent autonomous car industry in check, *[Wired ](<https://www.wired.com/story/regulating-self-driving-cars-no-one/>)*[reports](<https://www.wired.com/story/regulating-self-driving-cars-no-one/>). And while groups are trying to improve, the revelation is troubling news for anyone else on or around the road.

## Human Error

Some states, like California and Pennsylvania, have strong standards in place. But others are more lax, according to *Wired*. And even though the idea of self-driving cars is to make vehicles safer, that means there's no way to keep an eye on companies as they debug their systems.

"While I appreciate the potential benefits of autonomous vehicles, I remain concerned that humans will be used as test dummies," New Mexico Senator Tom Udall told *Wired*.

## Tightening Up

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded a recent meeting with a call for laws that force self-driving car companies to develop and disclose stronger safety protocols, *Wired* reports. The agency argued that the federal government could easily fix the industry's safety problem.

"In my opinion, they’ve put technology advancement here before saving lives," NTSB member Jennifer Homendy told *Wired*.

**READ MORE:** [Who's Regulating Self-Driving Cars? Often, No One](<https://www.wired.com/story/regulating-self-driving-cars-no-one/>) \[*Wired*\]

**More on autonomous cars:** *[Scientists Warn Self-Driving Cars Could Worsen Inequality](<https://futurism.com/self-driving-cars-worsen-inequality>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)