Bill to Allow Self-Driving Cars Clears U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would give federal regulators exclusive power to set nationwide standards for self-driving vehicles.
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The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would give federal regulators exclusive power to set nationwide standards for self-driving vehicles. The measure now goes to the Senate.
The measure is strongly backed by carmakers and other developers of technologies that will enable cars to drive themselves. They note that the bill would block states from creating conflicting or contradictory rules about such systems that could make interstate travel illegal for robotic vehicles.
The House measure would make the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration solely responsible for regulating the safety of autonomous passenger cars and light trucks.
Until NHTSA establishes those standards, manufacturers each could sell as many as 100,000 self-driving vehicles per year that don’t comply with existing federal safety standards. Current regulations require a human driver behind the wheel.
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