Legislation and Task Force Seek to Make PA an Important Testing Ground For Self-Driving Cars

By

A prototype for Uber's self-driving car.--photo via Ride Share Apps.

The future is signaling a turn into Pennsylvania now that state officials and researchers have convened a new task force to help develop self-driving vehicles and lawmakers are proposing a new roadmap to local testing of such autonomous vehicles.

PA Sen. Jay Costa
PA Sen. Jay Costa

“The concept of autonomous cars is something many of us never thought we’d be discussing in our lifetime,” Sen. Jay Costa said before the first meeting of the Autonomous Vehicles Testing Policy Task Force. “What’s exciting to me is that … we’re in the center of where this innovation is happening at places like Google, Uber and, most importantly, here at Carnegie Mellon University. Innovation brings growth and will have a lasting impact on our communities. As we move forward, we’re not only testing the concept of autonomous vehicles, we’re growing jobs and driving economic development in our communities.”

The task force is composed of state, federal and private-industry officials from institutions such as the Federal Highway Administration, AAA, Uber Technologies and Carnegie Mellon University, where staff and students have developed 14 generations of self-driving vehicles over the past 30 years.

The proposed legislation paves the way for controlled automated vehicle testing, not operation, and $5 million in required general liability insurance for the companies that will test self-driving vehicles.

“Autonomous and connected vehicles offer a promising glimpse into the future of our transportation system,” Sen. John Wozniak said. “I’m proud that Pennsylvania is one of the states leading the development of this cutting-edge technology. However, it’s important that the public knows these cars are safe, and SB 1268 addresses those concerns while at the same time allowing Pennsylvania to stay competitive in this field for years to come.”

Connect With Your Community

Subscribe to stay informed!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement
Creative Capital logo