Abstract
This Comment critically analyzes bills, statutes, and regulations that govern the use of autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles, also known as self-driving cars, represent the future of personal transportation. States have begun to regulate the testing and implantation of this technology onto public highways, and the federal government has suggested baseline regulations for states to consider when proposing future legislation. First, this Comment provides a brief overview of autonomous vehicle technology, as well as the pros and cons of a self- driving vehicle. Second, this Comment analyzes both enacted and proposed legislation at the state level. This Comment then recommends various provisions that states should implement in future legislation and cautions against the inclusion of various provisions that will impede the implementation of autonomous vehicle technology. This Comment also offers a brief look at the possible effect that international agreements may have on the commercial availability of autonomous vehicles. Finally, this Comment argues that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration should exercise its regulatory authority to provide a national regulatory regime regarding autonomous vehicles.
Repository Citation
Andrew Swanson,
“Somebody Grab the Wheel!”: State Autonomous Vehicle Legislation and the Road to a National Regime,
97 Marq. L. Rev. 1085
(2014).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol97/iss4/8