[Michigan Gov.] Snyder to sign autonomous car bills into law

[DocM]

Michigan enacts autonomous vehicle laws, including for Uber and Lyft.

 

The American Center for Mobility site is at the old Ford  Willow Run Bomber Plant, the production site for WW-2 era B-24 Liberator bombers.

 

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2016/11/21/autonomous-car-bills/94237146/

 

Quote

 

Snyder to sign autonomous car bills into law

 

Ypsilanti Township — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will sign a package of autonomous vehicle bills into law as early as next week.

 

The second-term Republican, who recently returned from a trade mission to China, said he plans to sign the bills “relatively soon,” adding it would be in the next week or so.

 

“I’m looking forward to that cause that helps establish this, but also sets a framework to do more testing in Michigan,” Snyder said Monday during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the American Center for Mobility, a 335-acre testing site for driverless and connected vehicles that is expected to open in December 2017.

 

The bills, Snyder said, have been going through the normal review process without any “snags” since being sent to his desk from the Legislature earlier this month.

 

The three-bill package sped through both the House and Senate with almost unanimous support.

 

Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall, R-White Lake, on Monday said he wasn’t surprised by the overwhelming support for the bills.

 

“When man was first cooking their food around and they invented fire, some people ran away because they were afraid of it,” said Kowall, who introduced the bills earlier this year. “The other ones stood around and the meat got cooked.”

 

The proposed laws would allow the public to buy and use fully driverless cars whenever they are available. Autonomous vehicles currently can only be driven in Michigan for test purposes, and a driver must be at-the-ready. The laws also would allow ride-sharing services without drivers to be operated by auto manufacturers or by ride-hailing services such as Lyft or Uber.

 

The legislation has the support of major automakers and suppliers, many House lawmakers and Snyder, who has said driverless-car testing and operations are crucial for helping Michigan keep its economic edge and remain the automotive capital of the world after years of economic hardship.
>

“I think this is going to help Michigan a lot,” Kowall said. “We have companies already from all of the world that are interested in creating a presence here. We’re going to see activity on this site that we haven’t seen in years.”