Megan McArdle, Columnist

Trump Slams the Brakes on Self-Driving Cars

When government fails to provide useful regulations, innovation suffers. Whoops.

One reason good ideas stall as prototypes.

Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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What if your car could keep you out of an accident by knowing what was coming around the corner?

No, I’m not just telling you what you already know about self-driving cars. Most of the self-driving prototypes we’re familiar with rely on sensors, which have limited range and can’t see past obstacles. That’s enough to prevent a lot of accidents -- but what if trouble is lurking outside their range of “sight”? Enter “V2V”: vehicle-to-vehicle communications that could make the dream of self-driving cars come true. Or not, if regulators decide not to push us in that direction.