In recent years, companies like Google and BMW have spent a fortune developing cars that can safely drive themselves. The results have been overall positive, but there are still numerous hurdles to clear before the technology is found in mass-produced vehicles.
One of the biggest obstacles has been the legality of such vehicles. Google has mostly tested its cars in the state of California, where the law doesn’t ban autonomous vehicles, but it doesn’t allow them, either.
Nevada made global headlines last June when it became the first state in the country to sign Google’s Autonomous Car Bill. It explicitly allows self-driving cars to circulate on public roads within the state.
The Silver State’s Department of Motor Vehicles has just taken the next step in fully authorizing autonomous cars by drafting a set of regulations that companies and test cars must abide by.
To make sure that everyone’s view was taken into account, the regulations were written with input from Google, car companies, test drivers, insurance companies, universities who participate in research programs, and law enforcement agencies.
According to the regulations, autonomous cars that are testing in Nevada will have to wear a red license plate. If the technology ever becomes mass-produced, autonomous cars will display a green license plate.
The bill is waiting to be approved by several other states, but the Silver State beat everyone to the punch, a move which might just propel it to the forefront of autonomous car research.
“Nevada is proud to be the first state to embrace this emergent technology and the department looks forward to sustaining partnerships as the technology evolves,” said Bruce Breslow, the director of the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles
