Washington Transportation Officials Review Rules for Driverless Cars
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 29 states currently have driverless-vehicle laws. Washington is one of them.
And though it will probably be some years before the state permits driverless cars on public roads, legislators are already discussing what rules to establish to prepare for this event.
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Current plans
Michael Schutzler, Washington Technology Industry Association’s chief executive officer, expresses his endorsement of the state’s pre-planning for self-driving autos. “If you’re going to have autonomous vehicles actually driving themselves in […] Washington, there are for sure a set of county, state and municipal-based rules that need to be put in place for that.”
According to KING 5 News, the Washington State Transportation Commission will present Governor Jay Inslee and lawmakers with its recommendations sometime in November. In addition, the state has also formed a work group, which will solidify the finalized recommendations in 2023.
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Special licenses and safety protocols
The recently-established work group recently suggested a few key policies to the Transportation Commission. For starters, the group recommends that autonomous-vehicle drivers secure a special license before they can legally operate their car.
Another recommendation is that self-driving vehicle testers have $5 million insurance policies. The group also wants to ban the testers from watching videos on their smartphones when they’re riding along in the front passenger seat.
Concluding thoughts
It will be interesting to see what the outcome of the November meeting will be. Whatever recommendations the state approves, though, it will definitely put Washington one step closer toward a more progressive transportation scene.
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News Sources: KING5.com, Government Technology, National Conference of State Legislatures
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