Following ratification by Nevada’s legislature to regulate self-driving cars, the California State Senate has proposed its own set of standards. The California bill passed 37-0 and now heads to the State Assembly.
California is taking a more cautious approach than Nevada. “Earlier this month, Nevada issued its first testing license to Google, allowing the company to begin trials on state roadways. California’s bill doesn’t go quite as far, outlining general performance and safety requirements that manufacturers must meet before embarking on test drives,” reports The Verge.
The legislation requires mechanisms for disabling the autonomous functions and requires at least one licensed driver be in the vehicle during test trials. Additionally, companies conducting trials must be insured at $5 million minimum.
Senator Alex Padilla authored the bill and envisions California as “the global leader” of autonomous driving. He notes that autonomous driving would not only create new jobs, but would decrease tragic accidents since the “vast majority of these collisions are due to human error.”
“Through the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle can analyze the driving environment more quickly and accurately and can operate the vehicle more safely,” adds Padilla.
Following ratification by Nevada’s legislature to regulate self-driving cars, the California State Senate has proposed its own set of standards. The California bill passed 37-0 and now heads to the State Assembly.
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