By Jennifer Keiper, WLS-AM 890 News
(CHICAGO) Michigan has become the latest state to sign into law, a package of bills, allowing car companies to test self-driving cars on public roads. The bills leave many decisions up to automakers and companies like Google and Uber when it comes to testing cars without a driver or steering wheel. State officials say there are enough safeguards to keep the public out of danger.
Dr. Daniel McGehee with the University of Iowa National advanced Driving Simulator tells WLS, “These technologies are pretty far down the road and because states are now enacting some of this legislation really out there for the testing but there will always be some sort of a safety driver/safety pilot on board, if you take a look at the more detailed elements of that legislation.”
Ford analyst Erich Merkle lives and works in Michigan. “I think there is a lot to be worked out there and there are still a lot of unknowns there but certainly that’s the direction the industry is going. Eventually, we’re going to get there. It’s going to take a few years,” said Merkle.
The Michigan bills signed into law also allow automakers and tech companies to run autonomous taxi services and permits test parades of self-driving tractor-trailers as long as humans are in each truck, and according to the state, they allow the sale of self-driving vehicles to the public once they are tested and certified.
© WLS-AM 890 News
