Pittsburgh has become a major hub for the autonomous vehicle industry, and state officials were at Carnegie Mellon University to unveil a new law they hope will help continue innovation.
Republican State Senator Wayne Langerholc of Cambria County says the new legislation lays out updated language for highly automated vehicles—also known as HAVs.
“Currently under existing Pennsylvania law, a licensed driver is required to be seated in the driver seat position. It’s time to change this to comport in line with industry standards,” Langerholc said.
The legislation also has the support of PennDOT according to Transportation Secretary Yassmin Gramian.
“It seems futuristic in some ways, but the future is actually here. We need to be proactive. We need to get ahead of this thing,” Gramian said. “We cannot wait and become reactive anymore. The industry is moving very fast.”
The new legislation would apply to both commercial and non-commercial vehicles.
