There are companies developing self-driving vehicles even as we speak. The development process can get pretty complicated as it not only involves work in the factory but it also requires the cars to be driven on public roads. The more real the conditions, the better will be the company’s ability to gauge the areas where it needs to improve the tech. Getting the state’s permission is not a piece of cake though and that is why, the fact that Texas could allow self-driving cars on its roads, is making news.
The Texas Senate Transportation Committee has passed a bill that if it gets accepted by the house and turned into a law, will allow self-driving cars on state roads. The bill will now undergo a debate in the senate and needs to be passed by the house in order to turn into a law.
The bill was first proposed by Senator Kelly Hancock, chair of the Senate Business & Commerce committee. Business and technology are of course, invariably tied together so this hardly comes as a surprise. Meanwhile, Texas could well be taking a leaf out of other state’s books. For instance, Arizona has already allowed autonomous technology on its roads. Similarly, California is working upon improving its relationship with autonomous car amkers and recently worked with Uber to get its cars back on road.
In case you are wondering why these states are so excited about playing Guinea pig well, One: The tests would be safer than you think because the cars being launched on the roads would have been trained to deal with every conceivable situation and all these cars are also likely to have human operators sitting inside and keeping a close eye on things.
Two: autonomous vehicles are coming whether a state or two allow permission or deny it. Eventually, everyone is going to have to adapt to it. Plus, these companies might just decide to set shop and open factories in these states — leading to greater employment opportunities. Meanwhile, Texas’ bill would allow tests of only those cars that comply with all applicable federal laws and are registered by the Texas DMV.
