US lawmakers make final push to win approval of self-driving car bill

Automakers say the bill is critical to advancing the technology that could save thousands of lives

Reading Time:2 minutes

Autonomous Chevrolet Bolt electric car. Under the legislation, automakers would be able to win exemptions from safety rules that require human controls. Photo: AP

Published: 10:36am, 4 Dec 2018Updated: 10:44am, 4 Dec 2018

Key US senators are making a last-ditch effort to win approval of a bill to speed the use of self-driving cars without human controls, but face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill.

Staff for Republican Senator John Thune and Democratic Senator Gary Peters circulated a draft of a revised bill aimed at breaking a legislative stalemate.

The pair have been working for more than a year to try to win approval of the bill by the Senate and have said they may try to attach the measure to a bill to fund US government operations.

The US House unanimously approved a measure in September 2017, but it has been stalled in the Senate for over a year. Automakers and congressional aides concede they face tough odds of getting approval in the final days before the current Congress adjourns.

A key sticking point has been whether the measure would limit the ability of companies to compel binding arbitration for consumers using autonomous vehicles. The aides’ draft limits the use of those clauses in death or serious injury crashes, while the bill that passed the House did not include the limitation.

Self-driving cars find clearer paths in UK, Germany than US

The revised draft would require manufacturers to validate that self-driving cars can detect all road users – including pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists.