By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – The push to allow testing of autonomous vehicles on Illinois roads has stalled for now, but the sponsor of the measure hopes to rev up talks again soon.
State Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-Riverside, said one speed bump that is slowing down the bill is liability.
“If we’re going to do this – we’re talking about robots driving cars for lack of a better way of saying it – we need to make sure we’re crystal clear who’s liable,” Zalewski said. “The manufacturers would tell you that, ‘Well, we’re willing to take full responsibility,’ but we haven’t really defined what responsibility is.”
Zalewski said he’s hoping to have conversations this summer with the interested parties.
“It’s important to know if we really do need laws so we’re looking for some legal clarity on whether we do need a law or not,” Zalewski said. “There’s some companies who don’t think we even need to touch this.”
The Consumer Technology Association said the growing patchwork of state regulations across the country is one of the biggest challenges facing the development and implementation of self-driving vehicle technologies.
CTA Policy Communications Specialist Bronwyn Flores wrote in a blog post earlier this month that, “While most states don’t have any restrictions on the book, 11 states have passed bills specific to driverless cars. Some states, such as Michigan, are opening their roads to innovation, while others, such as Tennessee, are making rules that could hinder driverless car testing and overall growth of the industry.”
Illinois has no law regulating self-driving cars.
In its 2017 Innovation Scorecard, CTA gave Illinois a C+ for open roads and skies, the category highlighting statewide laws regarding drones and self-driving vehicles.
Illinois is considered an Innovation Leader by CTA, the group’s second tier underneath Innovation Champion. In other categories, Illinois received a C+ for entrepreneurial activity and a C for innovation-friendly sustainable policies.
Zalewski said Chicago is a big possible marketplace for autonomous vehicles and there needs to be testing defined by state law.
“It makes no sense when new technology comes onto the scene for the actors in those spaces to guess what the law is,” he said.
