In January, General Motors unveiled the Cruise AV, a car designed to have no steering wheel and no gas or brake pedals. It seems like science fiction, but GM is completely serious about the project. On Wednesday, GM announced that it is investing $100 million in manufacturing facilities for the new car, with a goal of introducing a commercial taxi service using the vehicles by the end of next year.
But how quickly these cars actually show up on our roads will depend on Congress. Current safety rules require every car to have a steering wheel and pedals—making a car like the Cruise AV illegal without a special exemption. The rules can be changed by regulators, but the rulemaking process typically takes years to complete. So car and technology companies have been lobbying Congress for an expedited process to allow tens of thousands of vehicles like the Cruise AV on the roads ahead of a full rewrite of the safety regulations.
