Michigan Passes Laws That Allow Driverless Cars on the Road
Last Friday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder sighed into effect a package of laws that will allow companies in the state to test driverless vehicles on public roads without the presence of a driver or steering wheel in the vehicle, and eventually, sell those vehicles once they are tested and certified by the state.
In a press release published after signing the bill, Snyder said, “Michigan is the automotive capital of the world. By allowing the testing of automated, driverless cars today, we will stay at the forefront in automotive technological advances that will make driving safer and more efficient in the future.”
In a Q&A with the Associated Press, Michigan Transportation Director Kirk Steudle answered questions about the safety of autonomous vehicles being on public roads, the position that the state is in now in comparison to other states that are testing driverless vehicles, and how the state plans on addressing potential issues that future tests could cause.
Steudle believes that testing in the state of Michigan will be safe because automakers already have a ton of knowledge on how to properly and safely test new cars on the road. Besides vehicles having to pass company guidelines before being deemed safe enough to test in public, there will be a further layer of protection in place for cars in the state, as they will have to comply with federal safety standards. There’s also the possibility that some cars might have to be certified as roadworthy by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration if proposed federal guidelines are adopted.
In comparison to other states testing driverless vehicles, Steudle believes that the new laws passed by Snyder put Michigan at the forefront of the autonomous driving movement, right alongside a state such as Florida. But Steudle believes that Michigan might actually have the upper hand on Florida, being that the state is home to routine inclement weather, allowing automakers to test their vehicles in snowy conditions.
Finally, while the state won’t actually track crashes that autonomous cars are involved in, Steudle said that police would investigate those accidents, and presumably, report them to the state, which could lead to penalties being passed down on manufacturing companies that produce the vehicles, such as suspending a company's manufacturer license plates and ending testing.
While Steudle does acknowledge that there will be bumps in the road once testing begins, he still feels like the reward greatly outweighs the risks associated with autonomous driving.
“It's a risk worth taking because the future of the technologies we know are going to help reduce those crashes and reduce those fatalities,” he said.
Besides putting autonomous vehicles on the road without the presence of a driver or steering wheel, the legislation signed on Friday will also permit the testing of parades of self-driving tractor-trailers as long as there is a human on board in each truck. Companies will also be able to run autonomous taxi services.
