GOP Lawmaker Brett Guthrie-Led Committee Touts Legislation To Ease Self-Driving Deployment As Robotaxi Push Gathers Pace

A Rep. Brett Guthrie-led (R-KY) committee has touted a legislative hearing on bills that would ease the deployment of autonomous driving technology in the U.S.

Motor Vehicle Modernization Act

In a statement released on Tuesday by the Committee on Energy and Commerce, led by Guthrie, and the subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, led by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), the committee said it would be holding hearings on multiple bills, including the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act proposed by Guthrie, on January 13.

The Motor Vehicle Modernization Act promises to extend exemptions from motor vehicle safety standards that are detailed in the 49 U.S.C. § 30113(d).

In its current iteration, the aforementioned clause provides exemptions to 2,500 vehicles, including autonomous vehicles, for manufacturers in a year-long period. Guthrie’s bill promises to bump that number up to 90,000 vehicles for 12 months.

Other bills include a proposed ban on states forming regulations on autonomous driving vehicles, as well as requiring NHTSA to establish guidelines for driver assistance systems and calibration for driver assistance systems, detailed in the ADAS Functionality and Integrity Act.

Robotaxis And Regulations

Last year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy touted easing regulations for self-driving vehicles in the U.S. by proposing amendments to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

Duffy had earlier announced eased regulatory hurdles for domestic AV manufacturers by providing some exemptions to report crash data and safety reports to the NHTSA.

Meanwhile, the Robotaxi push in the U.S. is gathering steam as Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk recently announced he was driven around autonomously by a driverless Robotaxi in Austin.

Tesla rival Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) also unveiled its prototype Robotaxi built in collaboration with Nuro Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER). Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), on the other hand, also showcased its autonomous driving technology.

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock