A U.S. House subcommittee approved by voice vote Wednesday a sweeping proposal on self-driving vehicles that represents the first major piece of federal legislation for governing the emerging technology and advancing its adoption nationwide.
The as-yet-unnumbered House bill — called the Highly Automated Vehicle Testing and Deployment Act of 2017 — raises the cap to 100,000 on the number of self-driving vehicles automakers may deploy without meeting existing auto safety standards, while also barring states from imposing their own rules on self-driving vehicles. In previous hearings, legislators noted concern with the potential creation of a patchwork of state regulations that would fragment the market.
