The Nevada state legislature recently passed Assembly bill 511 (36-6) and in doing so, became the first state to legalize driverless, autonomous cars. The Department of Transportation is now tasked with drafting regulations and rules that will govern autonomous cars.

Key highlights of from Assembly bill 511 include:

Section 2. The department shall by regulation establish a driver’s license endorsement for the operation of an autonomous vehicle on the highways of this state. The driver’s license endorsement described in this subsection must, in its restrictions or lack thereof, recognize the fact that a person is not required to actively drive an autonomous vehicle.

Section 8.
1. The department shall adopt regulations authorizing the operation of autonomous vehicles on highways within the state of Nevada.
2. The regulations required to be adopted by subsection 1 must:
(a) Set forth requirements that an autonomous vehicle must meet before it may be operated on a highway within this state;
(b Set forth requirements for the insurance that is required to test or operate an autonomous vehicle on a highway within this state;
(c) Establish minimum safety standards for autonomous vehicles and their operation;
(d) Provide for the testing of autonomous vehicles;
(e) Restrict the testing of autonomous vehicles to specified geographic areas; and
(f) Set forth such other requirements as the Department determines to be necessary
3 As used in this section:
(a) “Artificial intelligence” means the use of computers and related equipment to enable a machine to duplicate or mimic the behavior of human beings.
(b) “Autonomous vehicle” means a motor vehicle that uses artificial intelligence, sensors and global positioning system coordinates to drive itself without the active intervention of a
human operator.
(c) “Sensors” includes, without limitation, cameras, lasers and radar.

Google, which actively lobbied the measure in Nevada, recently spoke at AUVSI’s T3I Conference about their fleet of autonomous cars. Google has extensively tested the cars and included technological advancements that have resulted in 140,000-plus miles logged on the road. This year’s AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America, which will take place in Washington, D.C. (Aug 16-19), will include a session “T3I: Driverless Cars, From Conception to Reality.” To register for AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America, click here.

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BED04EC7-9D72-4851-BFA4-4CBFD4B4F6F7
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