The federal government stops a Florida auto-driver school bus driver

The Trump administration took a nonchalant approach to regulating autonomous cars, but on Friday, federal regulators decided that a self-driving car project had gone too far. In a very clear statement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it ordered the French transport company Transdev to stop transporting schoolchildren in an autonomous vehicle in Florida.

The Transdev pilot project at Babcock Ranch, a planned community, was fairly modest. On Fridays, Transdev's electric shuttle would drive a group of elementary school children to school, then bring them home later in the day. The vehicle had a safety driver on board. The road was short enough for children to walk or cycle to school the other four days of the week, according to a Babcock Ranch spokesperson.

"The shuttle travels at a maximum speed of 8 mph, with the potential to reach a speed of 30 mph once the necessary infrastructure is complete," said a press release from the month of April. August.

The Babcock Ranch Project is just one of many stand-alone pilot projects being piloted across the United States. Many of these projects involve cars traveling at higher speeds – and in more difficult traffic conditions – than the Babcock Ranch school bus.

So why did the federal government stop this project while allowing many others to continue with minimal oversight? NHTSA highlights two factors. The first is that Transdev is a French company. Different countries have different safety standards, so that foreign-designed vehicles often can not be used in the United States without the special permission of US regulators. NHTSA has granted Transdev a temporary import authorization to test its driverless shuttle in the United States. "Transdev has requested permission to use the shuttle for a specific demonstration project, not like a school bus," NHTSA said in its Friday statement. "Transdev has not disclosed or received approval for this use."

The other problem, of course, is that the project involves children. For obvious reasons, federal regulators will be very careful not to test experimental technology on schoolchildren.

"School buses are subject to stringent federal motor vehicle safety standards that reflect their unique goal of carrying children, a vulnerable population," writes NHTSA.

The pilot project lasted several weeks before the Trump administration closed it. It was launched in mid-September and the Fort Myers News press followed the children on the shuttle in early October.

"I find it cool that someone invented that," said seven-year-old Molly Murphy. But federal regulators argue that the company did not get the proper authorization to test it – and in their opinion, it's not that cool.