Car Companies Convince Lawmakers To Start Taking Autonomous Driving Seriously

At this point, it’s practically a given that the roads of the future will be filled with cars that don’t have drivers, don’t have steering wheels, or both. However, some of the major roadblocks to achieving this future include US regulations that limit what car companies can do with regards to testing and develop self-driving technology. After months of pushing lawmakers to start implementing changes that would speed up progress, auto companies finally got their attention.

Representatives of both GM Motors and Toyota met with US officials on Tuesday to explain the need for new legislation that pertains directly to autonomous driving, Reuters reports. Both companies have a stake in the development of self-driving vehicles and as GM’s vice president of global strategy, Mike Abelson says in a written testimony, the current safety rules are slowing down progress that could push the fruition of driverless cars for decades.

 "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," the testimony reads. "It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greater numbers."

The statement from Toyota says the same thing, urging lawmakers to finally act on this issue. The cab-hailing company Lyft is also sending a representative to share a statement with US officials. As it stands, several US Senators from both parties are drafting new legislation addressing precisely these concerns.

Aside from the fact that development of the technology is getting slowed down by current traffic safety rules, there’s also the matter of the car companies wanting to avoid the kerfuffle between Uber and the California DMV and Attorney General’s office, The Verge notes. The cab-hailing giant had tried to force its tests through the red tape when it plopped self-driving vehicles in San Francisco’s streets a while back. Uber ended up being the loser in that battle, getting kicked out of the state as a result.