Senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars

Two senators said Monday that they’re launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of self-driving cars on the nation’s roads. It’s the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of the vehicles.

Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said they’re exploring legislation that “clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-driving vehicle technology.”

The senators’ counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations that presume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars. To make changes, congressional action may be needed.

“Without changes to those regulations, it may be years before the promise of today’s technology can be realized and thousands of preventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen,” Michael Ableson, General Motors Co.’s vice president of global strategy, plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to prepared testimony.

Proponents of self-driving cars say the vehicles could dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94% of fatal crashes. More than 35,000 people were killed on the nation’s roads in 2015, up more than 7% from the previous year. Traffic deaths surged an additional 8% in the first nine months of last year.

Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations, creating the potential for a confusing array of laws.

“Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal and state regulators,” Thune and Peters said in a joint statement.

Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars. Last year, the Obama administration issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet, with the understanding that enforceable regulations could follow.

The Trump administration has not indicated what approach it will take to the technology.

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