AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Texas House has approved safety standards for self-driving cars, hoping to better regulate technology that’s already been tested on the streets of the state capital.
The bill by Sen. Kelly Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, mandates that autonomous vehicles comply with national traffic codes. The state could also supersede local regulations made to accommodate self-driving cars.
The House passed Hancock’s measure via voice vote Saturday. It unanimously cleared the Senate last month, but House changes now send it back there.
Google has tested self-driving cars in Austin, where city officials embraced technology that in the past was slowed by regulations in the company’s home state of California.
Hancock’s bill also requires self-driving cars to be equipped with data-recording systems and to stop and notify “proper authorities” after crashes.
