Georgia and five other states — California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Tennessee — as well as the District of Columbia, are in the process of getting or have already devised laws governing autonomous vehicles.
For many, staying in front of the autonomous vehicle curve is partly out of practicality, particularly in states with high road usage, and partly designed to find an economic advantage in being an early adapter.
“I think the technology has changed, and I think the climate is prime here in Georgia, ” state Rep. Trey Kelley, a Republican from Cedartown, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Kelley’s proposed legislation would allow self-driving cars to operate on public roads in Georgia. The law is being passed in part because the Autonomous Vehicle Technology Study Committee in 2015 concluded that states would need to weigh in on the issue as technology brings self-driving vehicles closer to reality.
Autonomous vehicles are being advanced on the public stage as being safer and more efficient in both sprawling urban areas and in less densely populated areas.
Text by Dave Helms
