Skip to main content

Senators set to release new legislation on self-driving car bill

Two US Senators have announced a bipartisan agreement to remove some regulations which made it harder to deploy self-driving cars on American roads, according to a report on US political website ‘The Hill’. On 4 October a Senate committee will consider the legislation already passed by the House of representatives which would allow automakers to sell up to 25,000 vehicles in the first year they are offered and up to 100,000 if they are deemed to be as safe as cars driven by humans.
September 29, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Two US Senators have announced a bipartisan agreement to remove some regulations which made it harder to deploy self-driving cars on American roads, according to a report on US political website ‘The Hill’.

On 4 October a Senate committee will consider the legislation already passed by the House of representatives which would allow automakers to sell up to 25,000 vehicles in the first year they are offered and up to 100,000 if they are deemed to be as safe as cars driven by humans.

In a joint statement, Senate Commerce committee chairman Hone Thune (R-S.D) and Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich) said: “While this Senate self-driving vehicle legislation still has room for further changes, it is a product of bipartisan cooperation we both stand behind."

Related Content

  • C/AVs could mean cheaper roads
    October 28, 2019
    The safety benefits of C/AVs have long been promoted – but research suggests they should also contribute to cheaper roads. David Crawford investigates the potential benefits in infrastructure costs Building narrower freeway lanes to accommodate the enhanced route-tracking capabilities of connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs), running in platoon conditions, could result in cost savings of £0.5 million (€0.56 million or US$6.5 million) for every km of road length built. Such benefits could be secur
  • US transportation policy needs to restart to sort shortcomings
    August 2, 2012
    Joshua Schank has no illusions when it comes to what he and the Bipartisan Policy Center are suggesting in Performance Driven: New Vision for US Transportation Policy. Released in June of this year, this major report (see Sidebar, 'The Shift in Thinking') advocates no less than a root-and-branch overhaul of the way in which the US transportation system is run - how money is allocated and how the beneficiaries of that funding are selected. As its name suggests, Schank and his colleagues are urging senior US
  • Authorities switch on to all electric buses as costs tumble
    January 9, 2018
    Alan Dron looks at changes in bus propulsion as cities look to improve air quality and seek to reduce maintenance costs. Despite the ending of various incentives to adopt alternative fuels, the introduction of electric buses by US transit authorities is picking up speed as performance improves, costs drop and air quality considerations become increasingly significant. More US bus manufacturers are introducing zero-emission models and some recent contracts will see many more passengers getting their first
  • NHTSA studies hacking risks to automated vehicles
    May 21, 2013
    A report by Bloomberg says that rising hacking risks to drivers as their cars become increasingly powered by and connected to computers have prompted the US’s auto-safety regulator to start a new office focusing on the threat. “These interconnected electronics systems are creating opportunities to improve vehicle safety and reliability, but are also creating new and different safety and cybersecurity risks,” David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said at a recent Senat