Burney Simpson

Maryland could become the fifth state to allow the use or testing of self-driving vehicles though there’s still probably a long road ahead before it changes any laws.

The Maryland House of Delegates today passed a proposal that would fund a two-year task force that will determine best practices for self-driving vehicles after reviewing how other states are addressing the topic and calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation for guidance.

The legislation calls for spending as much as $200,000 to hire a driverless vehicle expert to advise the task force which must report its findings by the end of 2016.

The proposal also calls for a review of current state law to consider possible changes needed to accommodate driverless vehicles. The task force must also make recommendations on driver training and education, and on liability issues for crashes involving driverless vehicles.

FOUR STATES & DC

If Maryland decides to allow the use or testing of self-driving vehicles, it will join Nevada, California, Florida, Michigan, and the District of Columbia. Nevada authorized the use of self-driving vehicles in 2011, and issued a license to Google in 2013.

The chief sponsor of the Maryland proposal is Del. Pamela Beidle, a Democrat from Anne Arundel County, who has said that support for driverless transportation is growing rapidly.

The House passed her proposal 130 to seven, and requests to be on the task force have come from the State House, the Attorney General’s office, the state highway department and DOT, several police organizations, AAA, insurers, and OEM associations, according to press reports.

NEXT STEPS

The next step in the legislative process is for the Maryland state senate to pass similar legislation to that of the House bill, and send it to the governor for his signature. A sister bill – SB0778 – is scheduled to be heard March 24 by the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

It has the bi-partisan sponsorship of Sen. Andrew Serafini, a Republican from Washington County, and Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Democrat from Baltimore City.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reported that 11 states, including Maryland, considered self-driving vehicle legislation in 2013, but none of those proposals were successful.

The NCSL found that the major issues that states consider in these proposals have been liability, insurance, cyber-security, and the possible application of distracted driver laws to the person charged with responsibility for the vehicle.