Legislation Bonanza: Out to Colorado

SB 17-213, as amended, is the Colorado bill. Even in beautiful Colorado, where everyone is fit and either biking in spandex or skiing, there is a state legislature. Okay, some people are hiking there. (I actually like Moxie Bread Company, a nice little whole grain bakery with great coffee in Louisville, outside of Boulder.)

The Colorado legislation opens with (1) a summary of the carnage on the nation's roads - and Colorado roads, specifically - due to deaths and injuries caused by vehicular crashes; and (2) the usefulness of driverless vehicles for first-mile/last-mile connections to transit and the mobility of people with disabilities and older adults. Amazing is that this introduction also mentions pedestrians and people who are poor. Go Colorado! Thinking multi-modal and socioeconomically.

Short bill, broad coverage

In a few pages, and those pages have a large font, the bill places its trust in a driverless future. Forget a focus on testing, the Colorado legislation would:

* Preempt local governments from regulating driverless vehicles. 
* Authorize operation of driverless vehicles as long as vehicles comply with state and federal laws.  
* Allow for testing of vehicles that are not in compliance with state and federal laws, with permission from the Colorado State Patrol and the DOT (Department of Transportation).
* And for the we-must-make paperwork department: The state DOT is required to submit a report each September about driverless testing in Colorado.

Colorado wisely leaves questions of liability, in the case of malfunction or crash, with existing judicial precedent, laws, and regulations. A new legal judicial structure for a new technology is not being established. Those physically fit (I'm assuming) state legislators read my mind.

AV eye candy from London

A glimpse into the future Colorado sees is already beginning to materialize in a very different landscape. See what the public transport agency in London will be trying out.

Click here for the video source.