(No state has yet banned the vehicles outright, although individual legislators in some states have proposed such measures.) Short title; table of contents. The Senate Commerce Committee first held a hearing in May 2016 to examine advances in autonomous vehicle technology and the appropriate role for government in regulating self-driving cars. The SELF DRIVE Act would: Block states from banning self-driving vehicles. Senate Actions In addition to drafting a companion bill to the SELF-DRIVE Act, the U.S. Senate is in the process of conducting hearings on regulating self-driving trucks and other commercial vehicles. The House Energy and Commerce Committee touts the SELF DRIVE Act as improving NHTSA’s “ability to adapt… (. ), Array The new bill is being written with input from both chambers in the hopes of avoiding last year’s breakdown. Here are some highlights! (text: CR H6667-6671) The House Energy and Commerce Committee touts the SELF DRIVE Act as improving NHTSA’s “ability to adapt federal safety standards to this emerging technology, and clarify[ing] federal and state roles with respect to self-driving cars.” The bill preempts states from enacting laws regarding the design, construction, or performance of highly automated vehicles or automated driving systems unless such laws enact standards identical to federal standards. Attention now turns to the US Senate, which is expected shortly to consider companion legislation to the Act (which then must be reconciled with the Act before it can be sent to the President for review and approval). The Senate Commerce Committee is set to soon to consider what will likely be companion legislation to the SELF DRIVE Act, although it remains to be seen whether the Senate will opt for a substantially similar policy approach or chart its own course. Even still, proponents in Congress often set … 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. The Senate’s AV START Act. Establish NHTSA safety assessment certifications for manufacturers. The full Energy & Commerce Committee then passed the SELF DRIVE Act with unanimous support at 54-0. Update the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to account for advances in technology and the evolution of highly automated vehicles, and. On September 6, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution (“SELF DRIVE”) Act, H.R. Peters' bill has moved to the full Senate for further consideration, and the SELF DRIVE Act is now in the Senate's hands as well. Reaffirm the role and responsibilities of federal and state governments. House Republicans call for Senate to act on AV legislation In marking the one-year anniversary of passing the SELF DRIVE Act, House Energy & Commerce Committee members called on Senators to follow their lead. [displayText] => Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. In January 2016, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled new policy that updates the National Highway Traffic Safety … This leads to uncertainty for innovators and investors, and the U.S. losing its competitive edge to countries in Europe and Asia that have already enacted legislation. And I believe today’s legislation strikes that critical balance.”. Establishing a Federal Advisory Council to ensure manufacturers and regulators understand the needs of populations traditionally underserved by public transportation as well as senior citizens and individuals with disabilities; Ensuring manufacturers and regulators understand current impediments that may prevent individuals with disabilities from using self-driving cars. 3388. [displayText] => Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. Without a national policy, there is a real risk of states developing a patchwork of laws related to self-driving cars. Under the bill, which was approved by a unanimous voice vote, carmakers can add hundreds of thousands of self-driving cars to America’s road in the next few years. 3388, 115 th Congress), a number of serious and fatal crashes and investigations and recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board have made it increasingly clear that vehicles with autonomous capabilities and AVs are not yet ready for primetime. Where tens of thousands once toiled to make transmissions for traditional human-driven vehicles — and before that, built World War II bomber planes — a testing ground for automated cars and trucks now is under construction. [chamberOfAction] => House If it becomes law (which still requires it to pass the Senate), then it would make it possible for companies working on self-driving to field a lot more vehicles per year – as many as 100,000 autonomous test cars annually, in fact. (September 6, 2017), The New York Times: Self-driving cars’ prospects rise with vote by House: Lawmakers in the House took a major step on Wednesday toward advancing the development of driverless cars, approving legislation that would put the vehicles onto public roads more quickly and curb states from slowing their spread. 3388. If it … The SELF DRIVE Act represents the first major congressional action on vehicle automation technology. It could become the first federal law specifically aimed at self-driving vehicles, preempting state legislation. “We don’t want to have legislation out there or regulations that are going to stymie development” of autonomous vehicles. (August 21, 2017), Recode: House lawmakers just took the next step toward allowing more self-driving cars on U.S. roads: A bill that would allow companies like Ford, Google and Uber to more easily test and deploy self-driving cars on U.S. roads inched ahead in Congress on Thursday, after House lawmakers voted to send it to the full chamber for consideration. Nicknamed the Self-Drive Act, this bill is dedicated to giving automotive companies the ability to test their autonomous vehicles more freely. The SELF DRIVE Act was approved unanimously 54-0 out of the Energy and Commerce Committee and passed the House of Representatives by voice vote. It’s still far from becoming law, but its Democratic and Republican authors on the supportive House Energy and Commerce Committee believe their rare bipartisan proposal has a shot at success — despite tougher-than-ever partisan divisions on Capitol Hill. (July 27, 2017), Wired: Congress Finally Gets Serious About Regulating Self-Driving Cars: Seven years after Google started developing robocars, 14 months after a Florida man died in a Tesla Model S that was driving itself, and almost a year after self-driving Ubers started picking up passengers in Pennsylvania, Congress might actually start regulating autonomous vehicles. On September 6, 2017, the House unanimously passed the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution Act (the SELF DRIVE Act), bringing the nation one step closer to an autonomous vehicle reality. The Toledo Blade: Legislators Tour Testing Grounds for Self-Driving Cars (August 15, 2017). Improve NHTSA’s access to safety data for future updates and development of safety standards. Legislation Aids Innovation. Now, the Senate should act quickly to secure American leadership in this space so that folks nationwide can fully realize the potential safety and economic benefits of self-driving cars. The SELF DRIVE Act would: Block states from banning self-driving vehicles. 3. To date, the subcommittee has held three legislative hearings on the topic of self-driving cars with expert witnesses spanning government as well as tech, automobile, and consumer safety industries. All eyes are now on the Senate, which is drafting its own bill. Sec.