A Texas Department of Transportation conference wouldn’t normally attract much attention. But invite a robot car to your meeting, and everything changes. Google and its self-driving car were on hand at the Texas Transportation Forum today. The car – which relies on technology like radar and cameras to pilot itself – was the star of a panel on transportation and technology this morning. State law would have to change before self-driving cars are legal to use on Texas roads. Google project manager Anthony Levandowski downplayed the legal challenges to the technology. Instead, demonstrating “the reliability and safety of the system” is the biggest challenge Google...
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A new report finds serious breakdowns in procedures and safeguards by state-run hospitals across Texas. The year-long investigation was by Disability Rights Texas—an organization designated by federal law to protect people with disabilities. The report is titled “Turning a Blind Eye" and is focused on systemic failures within the state agencies that Disability Rights Texas says dismissed patient safety. The report details several situations where physicians with documented violations were hired or still employed at a state hospital. It also found patient reports of abuse or neglect were not investigated properly. But the report concluded that the limited sources and...
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