Bill on Self-Driving Cars Stalls in Senate
Congressional efforts to make it easier to develop self-driving cars in the U.S. have stalled in the Senate despite strong bipartisan support.
#regulations
Congressional efforts to make it easier to develop self-driving cars in the U.S. have stalled in the Senate despite strong bipartisan support.
Bills that would liberalize and nationalize rules—by exempting robotic vehicles from certain federal standards designed for cars piloted by human drivers, for example—breezed through House and Senate committees last summer, Automotive News notes.
But now the Senate is swamped with other priorities, making it unclear when the Senate will vote on the measure. Efforts to avoid the need for a floor vote by approving the bill unanimously have been blocked by five Democrats, AN says. They fret that autonomous vehicles aren’t yet safe enough to be unleashed on public roads.
Proponents say Congressional inaction risks putting the U.S. behind in the fast-moving global race to develop and launch advanced self-driving systems.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Tesla Maxes Out on Tax Credit as U.S. Sales Reach 200,000
Tesla Inc. says it will deliver its 200,000th electric vehicle in the U.S. this month, thereby triggering a phase-out of the $7,500 federal tax credit its vehicles have enjoyed.
-
U.S. in No Hurry to Regulate Autonomous Vehicles
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the emerging technology involved in self-driving cars is too new to be tightly regulated.
-
Toyota Finds a Mystery in Occupant Safety for Self-Driving Vehicles
Toyota Motor Co. says its study of how people in self-driving cars react to a near crash proves it will take far more research to improve the safety of occupants in such vehicles, Automotive News reports.