Legislators take the wheel on driverless car study
A suburban lawmaker thinks Illinois needs to start getting ready for the driverless cars of the future.
State Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat, is behind the wheel of legislation that would spark a study of Illinois roads and local laws to determine what needs to be changed before driverless vehicles become a reality.
“I want to be prepared for this because it's coming, and I want to be on the cutting edge,” Franks said. “I think we're a lot closer than people realize.”
The proposal was approved by an Illinois House committee Wednesday.
Driverless cars are already allowed on the road for testing in California, Nevada, Florida, Michigan and Washington, D.C. Google has steered the effort in developing technology for autonomous cars through its Google Chauffeur software.
Franks originally proposed to regulate driverless cars, but after talking with interested parties including the Illinois secretary of state, he found more information is needed before regulations can be drawn up, he said.
“The real question is, is it going to be like ‘The Jetsons' where there are two people sitting in the back and two people sitting in the front turned around playing chess, or is it going to be on long stretches of road so you don't have to worry about steering?” Franks said.
The study, conducted by the secretary of state, would examine things like whether speed limit signs need to be a uniform height so the car's technology can recognize them. It would also look at local laws to determine what needs to be changed for driverless car regulations to work.