Bipartisan senators try to jumpstart autonomous driving legislation

Senators Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan and John Thune, Republican of South Dakota are circulating draft language of their updated self-driving car legislation, in an attempt to free it from a four-year gridlock. Their strategy to jumpstart the stalled bill is to offer it as an amendment to a bipartisan measure aimed at increasing U.S. competitiveness with China during a committee hearing slated for next week.

Since 2017, Senators Thune and Peters have been calling for standards to be set for safety and cybersecurity requirements and for guidelines on determining accident liability if no one is driving. "Since first introducing the bipartisan AV START Act with Senator Peters in 2017, I have remained committed to enacting automated vehicles legislation, which has the potential to greatly improve vehicle and pedestrian safety, enhance mobility, and bolster U.S. technological leadership," Thune said in a statement to CBS News Thursday. "Our amendment is about bolstering US technological leadership to ensure we stay ahead of China in development, manufacturing, and deployment of (autonomous vehicles). Government has to keep pace with this rapidly evolving industry to maintain global leadership."