DOT secretary wants more rigorous reviews of robotic cars

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Tuesday that he wants government regulators and the auto industry to work more closely together to test self-driving technology before people entrust their vehicle's steering and brakes to a robot.

Foxx told about 1,200 people at a self-driving convention in San Francisco that a more rigorous review of robotic controls is needed to make sure the Department of Transportation and manufacturers are "in sync" about the safety of autonomous vehicles before they hit the road.

Brown, 40, was killed after neither he nor the Tesla Autopilot braked for a truck making a left-hand turn near a highway, according to the automaker and federal investigators.

Autopilot's failure is "a poster child for why enforceable safety standards are needed, not useless voluntary guidelines," they wrote in the letter addressed to Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Mark Rosekind, the current head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.