Google's Driverless Cars Have An Unexpected Enemy: Snow

is eager to bring more driverless cars to the road -- but don't expect to see one if you live in an area where it snows. Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car initiative, told Automotive News World Congress attendees that the company does not currently plan to test its vehicles in areas where it snows. This echoes comments he made

regarding the vehicle's limitations. At the time, Urmson also said that the cars could be confused by strong sunlight. Google might have solved that latter problem. "It turns out [that] day or night is not a problem," Urmson told reporters during a Q&A that took place after his presentation. "Vehicles have headlights that can illuminate things in front of you. Then the sensors, lasers and radars don't care."

As for snow, Urmson said that there are places where it doesn't snow where the company can test its vehicles. From there Google can "see how people use it and push the technological boundaries into these more challenging situations." Even if snow wasn't an issue, Google still wouldn't be ready to deploy the cars nationwide. "We still have more work to do," said Urmson. "We're testing those vehicles for a variety of reasons at our test facility. But on roads we're still seeing enough interesting things happen that we're not yet ready."

Urmson was asked about the reports that Google's driverless cars are not currently allowed on the road. He indicated that wasn't an issue. "I'm not a lawyer, but we disagree," said Urmson. "We don't actually think there's a regulatory problem at this point." Urmson wouldn't divulge any specific details on this matter. He was then asked if Google doesn't think it needs approval from the U.S. government or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "No, we don't," he said, adding that Google works closely with the NHTSA. "They have a very important job, a difficult job." Is the NHTSA aware that Google believes it doesn't need permission? "I think they would think that they are not a permission-granting organization," Urmson explained. "They would say that their job is to enforce regulation and verify that the vehicle meets all the certifications." Disclosure: