The Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has given its approval to new bill for self-driving cars.
The new self-driving car bill will allow automobile manufacturers to sell self-driving cars. However, there are some restrictions. First off, it doesn’t include semi-trucks. This is possibly due to safety concerns and pressure from unions.
The second restriction on self-driving cars that the bill introduces has to do with how many companies can sell. The bill would make it so that car companies could only sell 15,000 in the first year. However, this increase over time until the limit is removed in the fourth year.
The approval from the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee puts the self-driving car bill one step closer to law. It already got pass from members of the House of Representatives earlier this year. Now it just needs a vote from the Senate and a signature from the President, reports Engadget.
Car makers have been pushing forward with tests of self-driving cars to prepare for the day when they are ready for commercial sale. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is reportedly preparing to release a commercial self-driving car in just quarters.
It isn’t just automakers that have an interest in self-driving cars. Ride-sharing companies also want the tech to move forward. Lyft is already planning to test a service that uses the cars in California. Removing the driver from the equation will help the company reduce costs for its service.
You can learn more about self-driving cars at this link.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
