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ARTICLE · 28 NOVEMBER 2019

New Autonomous Vehicle Legislation Proposed—What You Should Know

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In October, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unveiled a partial discussion draft of autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation.

United StatesTechnology
Susan Lent
Susan Lent
Anthony Pierce
Anthony Pierce
Natasha Kohne
Natasha Kohne
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Key Points

  • In October, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unveiled a partial discussion draft of autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation. The draft text addresses safety standard exemptions for highly automated vehicles (HAV), motor vehicle testing and evaluation and the establishment of a HAV advisory council.
  • During a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the safe deployment of AV technology, lead Senate author John Thune unveiled guiding principles for future AV legislation. Those principles did not resolve concerns raised by Democrats regarding cybersecurity, liability and safety that stymied past efforts to pass legislation.

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