In downtown Chicago, people have been spotting Google’s Waymo automated vehicles testing and mapping the Windy City’s streets. For now, the autonomous vehicles must be driven by a human, as the industry seeks the endorsement of state lawmakers.
For the last year, legislators in Springfield have been trying to work through a variety of issues raised by skeptics of the autonomous vehicles, known as AVs. Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said AV legislation has a long road ahead to address constituent concerns over safety, insurance and job losses for rideshare and cab drivers.
In January, he introduced the Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Act, which would open counties in Illinois with over 1 million residents, as well as the counties of Sangamon, Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe, to automated commercial vehicles. But the bill has since been held up in the Rules Committee, an early step in the process that means it’s far from passage, especially in the current legislative session. Other bills supporting the industry also have yet to get the necessary support.
While Waymo has started testing its vehicles with safety drivers in Chicago, the company has not yet announced plans to bring the robotaxis to counties other than Cook, according to Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli.
Waymo only fully operates in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas — warm weather states where concerns about handling icy conditions are not as big an issue.
The company has faced significant questions over the safety of its vehicles and fully automated taxis. A subsidiary of Alphabet, Waymo is under multiple federal investigations for traffic violations, including illegally passing stopped school buses. Company vehicles have also made headlines for blocking emergency vehicles and hitting a child near an elementary school.
In a statement, Bonelli said Waymo is committed to “continuous improvement,” adding, “While rare incidents will occur over the more than four million miles we drive every week, our entire fleet can learn from these events and continue to make our roads safer.”
According to company data, Waymo vehicles are involved in 92% fewer crashes with serious injuries compared to an average human driver in the same city.
Among some legislators and observers, it seems a matter of time before legislative compromises eventually produce a bill that will pass to allow AVs to operate without the safety drivers.
Rep. Brad Stephens, a Republican who is also the mayor of suburban Rosemont, introduced his own AV bill last Spring. He said he sees a bright future for AVs in Illinois, but he acknowledged that it might not pass this session.
“It’s going to be a challenging two-and-a-half months with a lot of other issues,” Stephens said.
