Privacy

Why A Hacker Is Giving Away A Special Code That Turns Cars Into Self-Driving Machines

November 30, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Here is a strategy for start-ups dealing with regulators who might shut down your product: Make it free.</p> <p>Scrappy self-driving car start-up Comma.ai released a free software kit on Wednesday to help developers learn to build a device that can turn any car into an autonomous vehicle. The year-old company, which is founded by a well-known hacker and backed by prominent Silicon Valley investors, hopes to accelerate the development of self-driving cars while skirting the ire of Washington.</p>

Safety Advocates Sue Safety Agency For Ignoring Their Petition

November 30, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>The advocacy groups had asked auto safety regulators to require automatic emergency braking on new cars</strong></p> <p>Three consumer advocates have sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for failing to act on a petition asking it to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) on new cars.</p> <p>Instead of responding to the petition, the lawsuit says, NHTSA negotiated behind closed doors to reach a voluntary standard that the advocates say is weak and unenforceable.</p>

Trump Expected To Pick Elaine Chao As DOT Chief

November 29, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p style=""><i>Washington</i> — President-elect Donald Trump will tap former U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to lead the Department of Transportation in his incoming administration, according to multiple media reports</p> <p style="">Chao, 63, who served under former President George W. Bush, would become U.S. Secretary of Transportation at a time when federal regulators are scrambling to craft new rules for self-driving cars as automakers and tech companies race to develop the new technology.</p>

Autopilot Ads Should Be Reined in, Consumer Group Argues

November 29, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Consumer Watchdog wants rules limiting hype about self-driving cars</b></p> <p>Carmakers should be a bit more circumspect in their claims for self-driving cars, a California consumer group thinks. Consumer Watchdog wants the California Department of Motor Vehicles to ban misleading ads that leave the dangerous – and sometimes fatal – impression that a car is more capable of driving itself than is actually the case.</p>

Tesla Urged To Stop Using Word ‘Autopilot’

November 29, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="content__segment">A California-based consumer advocacy group is urging the state's DMV to crack down on Tesla’s use of the words "autopilot" and “self-driving” in its marketing, saying the terms mislead consumers into believing the feature is safer than it actually is.</p>

Hurry Up And Bar Tesla From Using The Autopilot Name In Marketing, Consumer Group Tells DMV

November 28, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The California Department of Motor Vehicles put forth proposed regulations that would, in effect, prohibit <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/business/automotive-industry/tesla-motors-ORCRP006147-topic.html" id="ORCRP006147" title="Tesla Motors">Tesla</a> from using the Autopilot name to market its vehicles. That was in September.</p> <p style="">Now, a consumer group is telling the DMV to get on with it.</p>

Carmakers Want ‘Flexibility’ In Self-Driving Car Rules

November 23, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p style=""><i>Washington</i> — Carmakers are pushing for “flexibility” and the ability to protect proprietary information in self-driving car testing as federal regulators move to implement new guidelines.</p> <p style="">The current proposal from the outgoing Obama administration calls for automakers and technology companies to voluntarily report on testing and safety of autonomous cars to federal regulators before the cars are sold to the public. Industry groups were given until Tuesday to submit comments to the agency on the proposed rules.</p>

Judge Denies Request To Stop Anthem’s Alleged ‘Bait and Switch’ Scheme

November 16, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied an emergency request to stop Anthem from allegedly switching some California members out of their preferred provider organization plans and into new plans with significantly worse coverage without proper notice.<br /> <br />

Advocates Worry Trump Will Trample Self-Driving Regs

November 11, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><i>Washington</i> — Consumer safety groups are worried that President-elect Donald Trump will do away with proposed guidelines for self-driving car testing that President Barack Obama’s administration has been working on for years.</p> <p>The new Republican president could be likely to reverse the Obama administration’s course on self-driving cars as part of his push to reduce the number of federal regulations that are impacting businesses, said John Simpson, privacy project director at the Santa Monica, California-based Consumer Watchdog group.</p>

California’s Drug Price Initiative: Will Voters ‘Send A Signal To Washington’?

November 7, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="article-body"> <p>This year, Mary O’Connor and her father made voting a family affair.</p>

Self-Dealing In Charter Measure RRR Exposed By LA Times

November 7, 2016  ·  Jamie Court

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Bernie Says CA Prop 61 Could Be Shot Heard Round World Against Big Drug Company Money

November 7, 2016  ·  Jamie Court

<div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text"> <p>Bernie Sanders came to Los Angeles’s Pershing Square today to tell Californians not to be deceived by the $130 million drug companies have spent against Prop 61’s controls on California drug prices.</p>